LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

Cha.p._o_H Copyright No. 

Shelf.„'.Q_S.. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



A MANUAL ON THE GROWING OF VEGETABLES 
FOR HOME USE AND MARKETING. 

PREPARED ESPECIALLY FOR THE CLASSES OF THE SCHOOL OF 
AGRICULTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, BY 

SAMUEL B. GREEN, 

PROFESSOR OF HORTICULTURE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF 
MINNESOTA. 

WITH 115 ILLUSTRATIONS. 



a: '■■■'■■\ 

Published by the Author." 
WEBB PUBLISHING COMPANY, ST. PA 
PUBLISHER'S AGENTS. 

1896. 




THE EAGLE PRINTING COMPANY, DELANO, MINN. 



\ 






COPYRIGHT 1896. 

BY 

SAMUEL B. GREEN. 






PREFACE. 

Three years ago I published "Amateur Fruit Growing" 
as a help in my class room work in the School of Agriculture. 
It has been very useful for this purpose, and has also been 
very favorably received by the horticulturists of this section 
of the countr3^ Such encouragement has led me to publish 
this book, which is prepared primarily for the School of 
Agriculture of the University of Minnesota, but which I hope, 
will prove a practical Manual for the vegetable growers of 
the Northern Mississippi Valley. This large section has, as 
yet, very few agricultural books adapted to its peculiar con- 
ditions, and too often the methods and varieties recommended 
in books written in the Eastern States are not fitted for the 
existing conditions of this section. In preparing this book I 
have had the kind assistance of many of my friends and my 
thanks are especially due to Dr. Otto Lugger for his assist- 
ance in revising the chapter on Entomology; to Professor 
Harry Snyder for help in revising the chapter on Manures, 
and to Major A. G. Wilcox for many useful suggestions. 
Mr. R. S. Mackintosh, my assistant in the Division of Horti- 
culture of the Experiment Station, has given me much help in 
preparing the photographs for the half-tone illustrations. 
To all these parties I wish to extend my hearty thanks. 

This book is written for the latitude of St. Paul and 
Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the dates here given are such as 
experience has shown best in that section. 

Most of the illustrations used are original. D. Landreth 
& Sons, the well-known seedsmen of Philadelphia, have 
kindly given me the three half-tone illustrations numbered 57, 
GO and 93. The other figures are from various sources. 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 

Location and Soil. — The land for veg-etable g-ardening 
should be free from stones and stumps, and easily culti- 
vated. Wet land should be avoided unless it can be 
drained at a reasonable outlay; if it cannot be drained it 
is of little worth, as scarcely anything of value can be 
raised on it, xA.ll land for vegetable gardening should be 
well drained, naturally or artificially, since crops on well 
drained land suffer less from excess of water as well as 
from drought. Drained land also g-ives best and most uni- 
form returns from the manure applied to it. When drain- 
age is lacking- in the land, the raising of plants on it is so 
very much a matter of chance that in the long run it will 
generally prove unprofitable. Much of the land in culti- 
vation is sufficiently drained naturally, while some land that 
needs no drainage when used for grass or grain would 
be greatly improved by being under-drained when it is to be 
used for some garden crops. Land which has a gently roll- 
ing or undulating surface and a southern exposure is the most 
desirable for general gardening operations, as it is easily 
worked and allows the most perfect control of the water that 
falls upon it. When irrigation is to be practiced, such sloping 
surface aids very much in the distribution of the water. For 
a few crops, such as celery, cabbage, etc., the slope makes 
very little difference, as flat and even very moist ( not wet ) 
land is best. There is a very great difference in the value 
of northern and southern slopes for various crops. This 
difference will frequently amount to one crop a year where 



6 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

the soil is closely tilled. The soil on a southern slope can 
be worked much earlier in the spring- than that having- a 
northern exposure, and often by proper manag-ement two 
crops may be grown in one year in such places, while on a 
northern slope perhaps only one crop could be raised. Then 
ag-ain, such crops as melons and tomatoes that require a 
long- season and a warm location to mature could do so on 
a southern slope, while on a northern slope they might not 
ripen. 

Location and Soil for Early Crops. — When the object in 
veg-etable gardening- is to grow very early crops, it is im- 
portant to have quick-acting land. Such a soil contains a 
large amount of sand in its composition. Soils of this class 
warm up very quickly, and decomposition goes on very rap- 
idly in them. They give the quickest returns from manures. 
If such land has a southern slope and, in addition, is pro- 
tected from the north and west winds, the situation will be an 
ideal one for the early vegetable garden and for tropical 
plants, such as tomatoes, beans, corn, etc. However, land 
and locations of this character suffer most from drought, 
therefore every pi'ecaution should be taken to protect them 
from it. Sandy soils, when irrigated, become most pro- 
ductive. 

Location and Soil for Late Crops. — When the intention is 
to raise cabbages, potatoes, turnips, beets, etc., for mar- 
keting in the autumn and for crops that require but a short 
time to mature or that prefer a cool location, a good clayey 
loam is generally best, and if it has a northern exposure so 
much the better. If obliged to use a stiff' clay soil, it will 
be found to give best results if subsoiled and drained. Such 
land should be fall-plowed and left in ridges. It will also 
be improved if coarse manure is worked into, it since this 
has a tendency to make the land open and more easily worked. 
A retentive clayey loam will be more difficult to work than a 
sandy soil but will generally withstand drought much better, 
although a somewhat sandy loam with a retentive porous clay 
sub-soil is often considered more desirable on account of the 
greater ease with which it is worked, and it resists drought 
nearly as well as a clayey loam if proper precautions are used 
in its management. 



CHAPTER II. 
IRRIGATION AND ROTATION OF CROPS. 

Irrig-atioQ is generally considered unnecessary in this sec- 
tion, since we raise fair and even abundant crops neaily every 
year without its aid, but in almost any season there are peri- 
ods when if water could be applied to growing- crops it 
would improve them. It will seldom, if ever, pay to irrigate 
ordinary farm crops if it is necessary to pump the water 
used. In order to have irrigation practical for farm crops, 
the water should be carried and distributed on the land by 
the force of gravity. It may pay to pump water to irrigate 
some garden crops if the conditions are favorable and the 
work is done intelligently. In this section irrigation should 
be used to supplement the rainfall, which should ordinarily 
be kept from running off the surface of the land by every 
possible precaution. 

Mulching the surface of the soil is practicable only around 
trees and in the case of a very few garden crops, such as 
strawberries and raspberries. The intelligent use of mulch 
on land in well known cases has caused the soil under it to 
hold an amount of water equal to thirty-three per cent more 
than was retained in soil near by not mulched, the amount 
in one case being equal to an increase of over two quarts of 
water to every cubic foot of soil, or to an increase of over 680 
barrels in the upper one foot of soil of one acre. If this 
amount of water had been applied at the critical stage in the 
growth of some crops suffering for moisture, it might have 
made a success of what would otherwise have been a failure. 
Where practicable, it is always desirable to have a good 
mulch on land that is watered, since it retards evaporation 
and iDrevents the surface soil from baking. 

Cultivation of the land prevents evaporation and so saves 
the moisture in it. In one instance the amount of increase of 



8 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

water in a good soil due to cultivation was equal to thirty- 
three per cent of what it contained when not cultivated. This 
increase, however, is somewhat more than was found in other 
trials, but in every instance there has been a marked increase 
in the drought resisting qualities of the soil due to continued 
cultivation. In some experiments made by Professor Levi 
Stockbridge in 1878, it was clearly shown that on one occa- 
sion in eight days of very dry summer weather thorough cul- 
tivation of the land resulted in saving 256 barrels of water in 
an acre of heavy loam by preventing- evaporation from its 
surface. These facts show the great value of cultivation as 
an aid in irrigating operations. Cultivation of the land or 
mulching should always go with irrigation. 

Humus is the rotten organic matter in the soil which in- 
creases its retaining power. On this account new land which 
contains much organic matter does not suffer as seriously 
from drought as that which has been cultivated for some time 
without manure. Likewise, land heavily manured with rotten 
manure, which becomes humus, has its drought resisting 
qualities increased, while the application of undecayed. man- 
ure to the land has a directly opposite result until it has 
been in the soil long enough to become thoroughly rotted. 

Amount of Water Required for Irrigating Different Crops. — 
Sometimes a very small amount of water applied at the 
right time will make the difference between a good crop 
and a total failure, as, for instance, when dry weather comes on 
just as the strawberry crop is almost ripe, when it has hap- 
pened that so small a quantity as 600 barrels of water per 
acre has been sufficient to ripen the crop. In western Kansas 
it is estimated that a storage capacity of 5,000 barrels per 
acre in addition to the ordinary rain supply is needed to 
mature a crop in dry seasons. In this section a storage ca- 
pacity of 1,500 barrels per acre would probably be enough 
to insure against serious injury from drought in any but 
very exceptionally dry years. Enough water to cover an acre 
one inch deep is termed an acre inch. About 900 barrels 
equals one acre inch. 

Pumping Water for Irrigation.— Where valuable crops are 
grown, it will sometimes pay to pump water for them. There 
are many localities in this section where a large amount 



IRRIGATION AND ROTATION OF CROPS. 9 

of water may be controlled by lifting it less than thirty feet. 
In such places windmills may be successfully used for pump- 
ing the water, providing reservoirs of large capacity can be 
cheaply made into which water may be pumped the year 
around, to be used as needed. Thresher engines, which are 
seldom used except in the late summer and fall, may some- 
times be used to advantage for pumping water for crops and 
often at very low cost. Gasoline engines are occasionally 
used in some irrigation works. They are very desirable, 
but at present the price is too high to warrant their general 
use. In putting in a pumping plant, the pump should be put 
as near the water supply as possible. 

Reservoirs should be on some elevated point. They are 
easily made by digging out the earth and puddling the 
bottom and sides with thick clay, which should be at least 
one foot in thickness and well packed when wet. A good 
way to pack it is to drive horses over it. When clay cannot 
be obtained the bottom may be made tight with a thin coat- 
ing of coal tar and sand, but clay is preferable, and what is 
known as blue clay is generally best. Cement is liable to 
crack badly from frost and is not adapted to this purpose. 
Made in this way, reservoirs are very cheap and easily re- 
paired. It is important to have them very large where the 
supply of water is limited; where the supply is large,,-, the, 
reservior may be much smaller. 

Application of Water. — Sloping land is necessary for most 
successful irrigation, as it is very difficult to apply water to 
the surface of level land. The slope should be sufficient to 
permit the water to flow quickly along its surface and yet not 
enough to cause it to wash. For irrigation purposes the rows 
should not be over 300 feet long. The best results are genei*- 
ally obtained from irrigating soils having considerable 
sand in their composition. Drifting sands may often be 
made to produce good crops by irrigation and manuring, and 
lands having some sand in their composition are much better 
adapted to irrigation than clay soils, since the latter often 
bake badly or become sticky so that they cannot be cultivated 
immediately after applying water to them. 

Rules for Applying Water to Land. — Water should not be ap- 
plied unless the crop is suffering for it, but cultivate the soil 



10 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



thoroughly and frequently, and thus watering- may be avoided. 

Cultivate at once after irrigating, if the land will per- 
mit of it, so that the soil will not bake: evaporation will 
thus be prevented, and water will be saved in the soil. 

Do not apply more than enough water to nicely moisten 
the land and avoid getting it water-soaked. 

Do not think that irrigation will take the place of culti- 
vation, for it will not, since without cultivation irrigation is 
seldom successful. 

Water for irrigating purposes should be somewhat warm 
when applied. Cold springs do not afford a satisfactoi-y 
supply for some crops unless first pumped into a reservoir. 
A temperature of 60 degrees is desirable, though not always 
necessary for the best results. 

Aim to wet the roots of the plants and avoid getting 
water on the leaves. 

Wooden troughs afford the cheapest conduits for water 
and should be used whenever practicable. Iron pipe is expen- 
sive and much more difficult to manage than wooden troughs. 




Figure 1.— Method of irrigatinfdr crop planted in rows. 

Sub-irrigation is a new term that refers to the application of 
water to the roots of plants by means of underground chan- 



IRRIGATION AND ROTATION OP CROPS. 11 

nels, such as tile or other drains. It works best in sandy 
soils. In clayey soil the water runs too slowly throug-h the 
sides of the tiles. Land tiles make as good channels as any 
for this purpose. They should be buried a few inches below 
the plants to be watered, being laid level with open joints. 
Some experiments seem to show that it is a very wasteful way 
of using- water, while others have shown this system to be 
economical. As practiced for watering- plants in greenhouse 
benches it has given excellent results. 

ROTATION OF CROPS. 

By rotation is meant the special succession of crops 
growing upon the land for a series of years. This is very 
desirable even on land in the highest state of cultivation, but 
it is very difficult to lay down exact rules to be followed. 

Reasons for Rotating Crops. — We rotate crops: (1 ) to avoid 
insect enemies, as in the case of onions and turnips, which 
are often liable to serious insect injuries when grown 
more than one year on the same land, turnips being es- 
pecially liable to injury from insects when grown in the same 
place successively; (2) to avoid injuries from fungous dis- 
eases, i. e., in case of potato and beet scab, onion and melon 
rust, corn smut, etc.; (3) to increase the amount of humus in 
the soil, as when land is seeded down to grass or clover; (4) 
to deepen the soil and add nitrogen to it as well as humus, 
as when clover is grown on the land; (5) to get rid of weed 
seeds in the soil: (6) to use the plant food in the land to best 
advantage, since crops vary very much in the amount of the 
different elements which enter into their composition. Legu- 
minous crops, like clover, peas, beans, etc., improve the land 
on which they grow, while most other crops exhaust the soil. 
Some plants excel others in their power to search for plant 
food, or to take plant food from the soil. Some plants feed 
near the surface largely, while others take their food mostly 
from a lower level. Root crops should not follow root crops, 
nor should vines follow vines for many years in succession 
on the same land. 



CHAPTER III. 

MANURES. 

While there are twelve or more elements that enter into 
the composition of our cultivated plants, yet only nitrog-en, ' 
phosphorus and potash, and in a few cases lime, are lacking- 
from our ag-ricultural soils. These three elements enter large- 
ly into all our cultivated crops and are necessary for their 
growth. The other elements are usually present in abundance. 

Humus. — Humus, while not in itself a plant food, is of 
g-reat importance in the soil. It is formed by the decay of 
organic matter and is composed principally of carbon. It 
promotes chemical action, by which plant food is set free in 
the soil, and it increases the power of the soil for holding the 
water and gases which it yields up slowly to the roots of 
the plants. Rotten stable manure contains a large amount 
of humus-forming materials, which undoubtedly add very 
much to its value, and it is probably on this account that 
it often gives better returns than commercial fertilizers con- 
taining the same quantities of what are termed the essential 
elements. 

The action of manures in the soil can be and generally is 
both direct and indirect. They act directly when they con- 
tain actual available plant food or when by their decay they 
yield it to the plant; they act indirectly when they start 
chemical action in the soil and thus set free soluble plant 
food in the soil itself. Almost all manures act in this in- 
direct way to some extent. A moderate application of stable 
manure by its decomposition (which is chemical action) in 
the soil has been known to increase the temperature of the soil 
by three degrees. Lime in itself is a plant food and is large- 
ly used by some crops. Most soils, however, contain it in 
great abundance, yet if quick lime be added to a soil al- 
ready rich in common limestone it generally serves to in- 
crease growth. This is not due to the plant taking up more 
lime, but rather to the fact that the quick lime starts chemical 
action in the soil by which some of the locked-up stores of 



MANURES. 



13 



plant food are made available. The same may be said of 
unleached ashes, though it contains much more valuable fertil- 
izing- material than lime. Common salt-also acts to some 
extent indirectly as a fertilizer, while it is of very little value 
as a plant food. 

COMPOSITION OF VEGETABLES, MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 

In the following tables is shown the amount of fertiliz- 
ing elements required by vegetables and the amount of these 
materials which is contained in the various farm manures 
and commercial fertilizers. These figures are from eastern 
United States and European sources. The climatic con- 
ditions in these places are quite different from those in many 
sections of the western states where the actual amount of ash 
ingredients in plants, especially in dry years, may greatly ex- 
ceed the amounts here given. The relation of these tables to 
one another is worthy of special study, since they show what 
the plants need and what fertilizing materials supply. 



TABLE L— Composition 


of Vegetables.^ 








Water. 


Ash. 


Nitro- 
gen. 


Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 


Pota.sh 


Artichokes 


Fer ct. 
81.50 
93.96 
68.46 
87.23 
88,47 
90.52 
88.59 
90.82 
78.90 
78.33 
95.99 
92.93 
76.68 
91.08 
86.28 
88.46 
93.68 
92.61 
76.44 
90.53 
91.15 
84.19 
87.41 
87.55 
80.34 
12.48 
12.62 
79.93 


Per ct. 
0.99 
0.67 
1.69 
0.76 
1.04 
1.40 
1.02 
0.81 
1.09 
1.02 
0.46 
0.50 
1.87 
1.27 
1.71 
1.18 
1.61 
1.01 
1.49 
0.56 
0.68 
2.25 
0.74 
0.57 
1.03 
2.36 
3.11 
0.78 


Perct. 
0.36 
0.29 


Per ct. 
0.17 

0.08 


Perct. 
48 


Asparagus stems 


0.29 


Beans, Lima 




Beans, string 






Beets, red 


0.24 
0.38 
0.16 
0.13 
1.92 


*0.09 
*0.11 
0.09 
0.16 
0.19 


*0 44 


Cabbages 

Carrots 


*0.43 
51 


Cauliflower 


0.36 


Chorogi, tubers 


64 


Chorogi, wholq plant 




Cucumbers 


0.16 

"0.36 

0.48 


0.12 

' 0.0(7 
0.27 


24 


Eggplant 




Horse-radish, root 


1 16 


Kohl-rabi 


43 


Lettuce, leaves 




Lettuce, stems 


■ ■ 6.'23 ■ 


'*6.07" 




Lettuce, whole plant 


*0 37 


Muskmelons, interior j nice 




Muskmelons, pulp 








Muskmelons, pulp juice 








Muskmelons, rind 








Mustard, white 








Okra 




Onions 


0.14 
0.22 

"3.58 ' 


0.04 
0.19 

"'6.84' 


10 


Parsnips 


6"' 


Peas, Canada field 




Peas, garden 


1 01 


Peas, green 











14 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



Composition of yegetables.!;.— {C'o/ttiiiNed.) 





Water. 


Ash. 


Nitro- 
gen. 


Phos- 
phoric 
Acid. 


Potash 


Peas, small (Lathyrus sativus), 
whole plant . . 


Per ct. 

5.80 
93.39 
86.23 

76.86 
92.27 
74.35 

92.67 
91.67 
88.61 
92.42 

88.09 
82.00 

74.03 

94.88 
80.10 
86.19 
82.14 
80.86 
71.26 
41.55 
93.64 
73.31 
83.61 
90.46 
93.05 
91.87 
89.97 
48.37 


Per ct. 

5.94 
0.67 
1.36 

1.51 
0.63 
2.28 
0.94 
1.72 
1.15 
1.94 
1.72 
1.21 

1.39 
0.41 
0.59 
0.,56 
0.56 
1.25 
1.00 
5.79 
0.47 
11.72 
3.00 
0.80 
0.20 
0.33 
1.24 
1.34 


Per ct. 
2.50 


Per ct, 
0.59 


Per ct. 
1 99 


Pumpkins, fl esh 




Pumpkins, rind 






Pumpkins, seeds and stringy 
matter 








=1^11 
0.55 


*0.16 
0.06 


*0 09 


Rhubarb, roots 


53 


Rhubarb, stems 




Rhubarb, stems and leaves 


0.13 
0.19 
0.49 


0.02 
0.12 
0.16 


0.36 


Rutabagas 


49 




27 


Squashes, flesh 












Squashes. seeds and stringy 
matter 








Squa.shes, whole fruit 






Sweet corn, cobs 


0.21 
0.18 
0.46 
0.28 
*0.24 

'"o.Ve 

0.24 
0.32 
0.18 


0.05 
0.07 
0.07 
0.14 
*0.08 

*"C).'05' 
0.06 
0.07 
0.10 


0.22 




22 


Sweet corn, kernels 


0.24 


Sweet corn, stalks 


0.41 


Sweet potatoes, tubers 


*0 37 


Sweet potatoes, vines 

Tomatoes, fruitf 


27 


Tomatoes, roots 


0.29 


Tomatoes, vines 


0.50 


Turnips 


39 






Watermelons, pulp 








Watermelons, rind 








Watermelons, seeds 















*Wolff. tSugar in fruit. 3.05 per cent; acid (malic), 0.46 per cent. 
^Compiled by office of Experiment Station. 



TABLE II.— Composition of Farm Manures. 





Mois- 
ture. 


Nitro- 
gen. 


Pot- 
ash. 


Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 


Lime. 


Cattle excrement (solid, fresh) 

Cattle urine (fresh) . 


Perct. 


Perct. 

0.29 
0.58 
1.10 
0.44 
1.55 
1.00 
0.60 
3.20 
0.80 


Per ct. 

0.10 
0.49 
0.56 
0.35 
1.50 
0.25 
0.20 
1.00 
0.30 


Perct, 
0.17 


Perct. 




a 60.00 


0.85 
0.17 




Horse excrement (solid) 

Horse urine (fresh) 






Human excrement (solid) 


77.20 
95.90 
10.00 
50.00 


1.09 
0.17 
1.90 
1.40 








Pigeon manure (dry) 

Poudrette (night soil) 


2.10 
0.80 



MANURES. 



15 



Composition 


of Farm Manures.— (C 


ontinned) 






Mois- 
ture. 


Nitro- 
gen. 


Pot- 

a.sh. 


Phosphoric 


acid. 






Solu- 
ble. 


Re- 
verted. 


Total. 


Lime. 


Sheep excrement 
(solid fresh) 


Per ct. 


Per ct. 

0..% 
1.9.5 

0.50 

0.60 
0.43 

0.49 


Per ct. 

0.15 
2.26 

0.60 

0.13 
0.83 

0.43 


Perct. 


Per ct. 


Perct. 

0.31 
0.01 

0.30 

0.41 
0.07 

0.32 


Per ct- 


Sheep urine (fresh) 
Stable manure 










73.27 








Swine excrement 
(solid fresh) 








Swine urine (fresh) 
Barnyard manure 











68.87 

















TABLE IIL~Composition of Commercial Fertilizing 


Materials. 


Apatite 






, 




36.08 

0.10 

0.40 
1.14 

1.51 

1.70 

3.80 

35.89 

28.28 

17.00 
23.25 

17.60 

20.10 

29.90 

26.77 

1.75 

8.85 

3.10 

3.10 
13.35 
1.91 

8.25 




Ashes (anthraicte 
coal) ... 






0.10 

0.40 
1.20 

1.27 

5.25 
1.31 








Ashes (bituminous 
coal) .. 












Ashes (lime kiln)... 
Ashes (wood 
leached) 


15.45 

30.22 

12.50 
40.09 

r.oo 

4.60 








48.50 
28.08 


Ashes (wood, un- 
leached) 








34.00 


Bat guano.. 


8.20 


2.37 


1.24 




Bone ash 


44.89 


Bone black 












Bone black (dis- 






15.40 
0.40 


1.30 

7.60 




Bonemeal 


7.50 


4.05 

2.60 
6.20 
1.70 






Bone meal (dis- 
solved) 






13 


53 




Bone meal (free 
from fat) 








Bone meal (from 
glue factory) 












Carribean guano... 


7.31 
9.. 50 

7.80 

7.75 

' 24.27" 
12..50 
12.75 

22.28 

10.17 
3.20 

4.82 








39.'95 


5.50 


1.10 
22.75 

1.80 

1..50 








Cotton-hull ashes... 


1.25 


6.50 


9.60 


Cotton-seed meal 
(decort) 


7.10 

4 30 

1.67 

10.52 

7.25 




Cotton-seed meal 

(undecort) 

Cubaguano 














Dried blood 










Dried fish 




0.55 


2.60 




Gas lime 





43.66 


Horn and hoof 
waste 


13.25 








1.83 




Kainit 


13.54 

8.42 


' 




1.15 


Krugite 











12.45 



16 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



Composition of Commercial Fertilizing r\ater\als.— (Continued.) 





Mois- 
ture 


Nitro- 
■gen. 


Pot- 
ash. 


Phosphoric acid. 






Solu- 
ble. 


Re- 
verted. 


Total. 


Lime. 


Meat scrap 


Per ct. 

12.09 

13.32 

50.00 

60.00 

2.00 

7.60 

1.93 

1.40 

8.54 
61.50 
14.81 

2.25 


Per ct. 

10.44 
0.76 
1.10 
0.40 


Per ct. 


Per ct. 


Per ct. 


Per ct. 

2.07 

21.88 
0.10 
0.10 


Per ct. 


Mono IslandGuano. 






7.55 


37.49 


Muck 


0.15 
0.35 

51.48 






Mud (salt) 






90 


Muriate of potash.. 








Navassa phosphate 






34.27 


37 45 




13.09 
15.70 

12.12 
0.85 
7.35 


45.19 








Nitrate of soda 










Oleomargarine re- 








0.88 
0.08 
15.30 

24.50 




Peat.. 


0.18 
2.65 










3.20 


4.10 




Phosphates from 
Florida 


28.50 












20.93 


Sewage sludge 
(precipitated) . . 


88.49 
5.54 

3.61 
63.06 

1.00 

4.75 

2.. 54 
10.00 

6.18 
10.00 


0.05 




0.05 

1.83 

2.04 
3,25 






0.10 


1.58 


Soot 








Spent tanbark 
ashes 


20.50 






1.61 


33.46 


Sumac waste 






1.14 


Sulphate of am- 
monia 










Sulphate of potash 
and magnesia... 

Sulphate of potash 
(high grade).... 

Tankage 


25.50 
33.40 








2.57 












6.70 
3.71 
2.35 


0.30 


5.10 


11.80 
0.65 
0.70 






5.02 

8.20 

3.92 

*1.20 


2.22 


Tobacco stems. .. 






4.20 










Wool waste 


15.80 


6.50 






0.3.5 


0.11 









^Sometimes as high as 5 per cent. 
tNova Scotia plaster contains 94 per cent pure gypsum and 4 per cent 
carbonate of Ume: Onondaga and Cayuga, 65-75 per cent gypsum and 18-28 
per cent of carbonate of lime. 



Animal Manures. — Manure from the same animals may 
vary greatly in quality according to the kind of food and 
the condition and age of the animals from which it comes. 
Fat animals fed on food rich in nitrogen (grains) produce 
the best manures. Young growing animals that are fed on 
poor food, such as straw, swale hay, etc., produce very in- 
ferior manure. The manure from young growing animals 
or from milking cows is much inferior to that from fat steers, 
since, in the case of the young animal, a large amount of 
nitrogen and phosphoric acid is required to build up the 



MANURES. 17 

animal body. In the case of the milking- cow a large amount 
of nitrogen is required for the production of the casein of the 
miik, while very little- of the nitrogen in the food is retained 
in the body of the fattening animal. The fats, oils and 
starchy materials which animals use larg-ely are of no value as 
manures. The nitrogen, potash and phosphorus are thrown 
off by the fat animal in the waste products. Manures rich 
in nitrogen ferment most rapidly. The urine is g-enerally 
rich in nitrogen, and since all it contains is soluble it is of 
more value than the solid excrements of animals, and special 
eft'ort should be made to save it. 

Horse Manure has the characteristic of being- loose and 
light, and of fermenting very quickly. On this account it is 
especially valuable for early spring- crops, as it makes the 
soil loose, thus permitting the air to easily penetrate it, while 
by its rapid fermentation it warms the land. It is valuable 
to mix with cow and swine manure on account of its hasten- 
ing fermentation. On account of these qualities it is used 
to warm hotbeds. 

Hen Manure is one of the richest manures foi-med by any 
of our domestic animals. It heats quite readily and violently 
and should be used very sparingly and with caution, since if 
put in contact with the roots or stems of plants it is very liable 
to burn them. It should be handled with great care and be 
kept dry. If wet, it ferments and parts with its nitrogen in the 
form of ammonia gas, which is readily perceptible to the nose. 
It acts very quickly and on this account is valuable for early 
crops or to apply during the growth of a crop when the avail- 
able manure in the land appears to have been exhausted. It 
may be composted with dry peat or muck, when it is more 
safely applied than if clear and there is less danger of loss 
from heating. It should not be mixed with lime or wood 
ashes, unless used at once. Twenty to thirty bushels of hen 
manure is generally considered sufficient for one acre. 

Cow and Swine Manures are rather slow in action, conse- 
quently they are not as desirable for early crops as horse 
manure, while they are excellent for late crops. For this latter 
purpose they ai*e often better than horse manure. If they are 
mixed with horse manure, they ferment very rapidly. 



18 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

Sheep Manure is a very concentrated manure which heats 
quite rapidly. It is one of the best farm manures. 

Mixing Manures.— It may often be a good plan to mix the 
different kinds of animal manures for general application, as 
in this way all seem to be improved. Hen manure is an ex- 
ception and, as a rule, should be applied separately. Lime, 
wood ashes or other material of an alkaline nature should 
never be mixed with stable manure of any kind unless a con- 
siderable amount of loam, peat or other material is added to 
absorb the ammonia, which is always liberated when nitrogen- 
ous and alkaline substances are thus mixed. It is a good 
plan to mix ground bone, tankage and other slow acting fer- 
tilizers with heating stable manure, as by so doing the plant 
food they contain is made more available and the stable ma- 
nure is greatly improved in quality. 

The Manure Pile — If early garden crops are to be grown, 
it is necessary to have fine, well rotted manure, and this makes 
the manure pile necessary. It should be placed so that as lit- 
tle waste as possible will occur from leaching rains. When a 
manure pile is to remain in one place for a considerable 
time, it should always be made upon a bed of leaves, peat, loam, 
rotted sods or other absorbent, about one foot in thickness, 
which will catch and retain any fertilizing material that may 
leach through the pile. If practicable, the pile should be 
made where it will be protected from the sun and drying winds. 
The height of the pile should depend somewhat on the kind of 
manure and the season of the year when it is made. Manure 
that will heat readily should be piled about six feet deep. 
When the pile is quite warm, the manure should be turned 
over. This operation should be performed, very thoroughly, 
as often as the pile gets very hot. All the lumps should be 
broken up, and the whole pile turned to the bottom of the bed 
on which it is placed. The absorbents of the bed should be 
mixed evenly throughout the pile and the cold manure from 
the outside be put on the inside of the pile so that it may heat 
the more rapidly. If the pile appears dry on the inside, water 
or what is better, the urine from the stable, should be added to 
assist fermentation, as this cannot take place satisfactorily in 
dry manure and the lack of water may result in serious loss. 
The number of times a manure pile should be turned over will 



MANURES. 19 

depend on the crop to which it is to be applied and the kind 
and condition of the manure. This is a matter which must be 
left to the g-ood judgment of the individual manager, but some 
of the factors bearing on this will be found discussed farther 
on. 

The Compost Heap can be made a prolific source of home 
made manure. Every farm and garden should have one of 
sufficiently large proportion to take care of all refuse organic 
material about the place. It should be made about as follows: 
Select a place handy to get at but where there is no standing 
water and put down first a bed one foot deep of old sods or 
muck and on this pile all the refuse material as it collects in 
various places. It may consist of old straw, leaves, an oc- 
casional load of heating manure, rotten vegetables, etc. This 
should be turned over occasionally by hand if necessary, but 
the best plan is to have the compost heap in a hog j ard and 
to it haul manure as it collects near the stables. If manure 
is piled upon a good bed of rotten sod, it will not lose much 
by leaching, nor will it lose anything by heating if a suf- 
ficient number of hogs have the run of it to keep it well 
worked up. 

Commercial Manures. — By commercial manures is meant 
those manures which are commonly sold by the trade. When 
of a high price they are generally of a guaranteed compo- 
sition, and they should be bought at a valuation based on the 
amount of nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid w^hich they 
contain in condition available to the roots of plants. The 
more available the form in which these materials exist in 
the fertilizer, the more valuable it is generally considered. 
Most of the older states require a guaranteed analysis to ac- 
company the packages in which the fertilizers are sold and 
exercise some supervision over the business. Among the 
most common of this class of fertilizers are the following: 

Tankage. — This is the refuse product from slaughtering- 
establishments, which after being relieved of its fat is brought 
to dryness and ground. It is very rich in nitrogen and phos- 
phoric acid but contains very little potash. Most of the nitro- 
gen and phosphoric acid which it contains is available to the 
roots of plants. It is probably the cheapest source of nitro- 
gen and phosphoric acid to be found in the western states. 



20 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

It varies considerably in composition, and this may some- 
times be accounted for by the fact that in some establishments 
the blood is separated from the other offal, thus reducing- the 
percentage of nitrogen in the tankage. It is a rather slow- 
acting fertilizer. Tankage may be safely used in quantities 
of less than 1000 pounds per acre if applied broadcast and 
worked into the soil. Four hundred pounds per acre is gener- 
ally considered a good application. It may be safely used in 
these quantities around growing- plants of cabbage, corn, let- 
tuce, etc., provided it is evenly spread out and does not come 
in contact with the roots of the plants. 

Ground Blood is very rich in nitrogen and quite difficult 
to dry thoroughly. If at all moist, it is likely to heat badly. 
It is a quick acting fertilizer and is seldom used without being 
mixed with other materials. 

Ground Bones are always rich in phosphoric acid, but 
ground fresh bones are better than dry bones since in ad- 
dition to phosphoric acid they have quite a large percentage 
of nitrogen, that is very small in bones that are old and dry. 
It is always best to break or grind the bones that are to be 
used on the land and in many cases to then mix them with 
fermenting stable manure. Ground bone is said to be a last- 
ing fertilizer because its effect can be seen for several years. 
If bones are burned, the nitrogen is wasted. Ground bone 
is greatly improved as a fertilizer by mixing it with stable or 
other fermenting manure. If fresh bones are mixea with un- 
leached wood ashes they will be made soft. Ground bone is 
generally applied in much the same way and for the same 
purposes as tankage. 

Nitrate of Soda, called also Chili saltpetre, is imported 
from Chili. It looks like common salt and contains about 16 
per cent of nitrogen, perfectly soluble and in the form most 
available for the plant. On this account, only very small 
quantities should be applied at one time, because if not taken 
up by the plant it may be washed deep into the soil out of 
reach of the roots. It is especially desirable for early leaf 
crops, such as early spinach, cabbage and lettuce, and to ap- 
ply when a crop comes to a standstill. It acts with wonder- 
ful quickness— almost like magic. It may be applied several 
times to the growing crop at intervals of two weeks, using 



MANURES. 21 

from 75 to 100 pounds per acre at each application. It may be 
sown near the hills if applied to cabbage, but for spinach or 
similar crops it should be sown broadcast when the plants are 
perfectly dry or during- a hard rain. If the leaves are only 
moist, it is liable to burn them. If sown during a hard rain, 
it is quickly dissolved and washed to the roots of the plants 
without injuj-y to the leaves. It is expensive and should 
never be used when a cheaper supply of nitrogenous manure 
will do just as well. It may occasionally be used to good 
advantage in water at the rate of one-half an ounce of nitrate of 
soda to one gallon of water. Such a solution will not -injure 
the foliage and is of sufficient strength. 




Figure 2. —Spinach plants grown on land rich in rotten stable manure. The 
larger plant received in addition to the stable manure nitrate of soda 
at the rate of one hundred and fifty pounds per acre. 

The use of very large quantities of nitrate of soda on the 
land has been found to make it necessary to continue using it 
in large quantities, while if used at the rate given it is not 
followed by such consequences. The supposed reason for 
this is that so much nitric acid in the soil destroys the ni- 
tric acid-forming ferments, and these must be slowly re- 
plenished before the soil is able to continue yielding its ordin- 
ary supply of nitrogen. 



22 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

Sulphate of Ammonia is a by-product from gas works and 
contains about 20 per cent of nitrogen. It does not act as 
quickly as nitrate of soda, but for late crops, to be applied 
during warm weather, it is one of the best sources of nitrogen. 

Superphosphate is made by treating ground bone or nodu- 
lar phosphate with sulphuric acid to render the phosphates 
soluble. It is rich in phosphoric acid, and some kinds con- 
tain a considerable quantity of nitrogen. They vary much in 
quality. The better kinds are generally used at the rate of 
about 400 pounds per acre. 

Wood Ashes is rich in potash and a valuable fertilizer in 
many cases, provided it has not been leached; if it has been 
leached, it is practically worthless as a fertilizer. Ashes from 
hard wood is much more valuable than that from soft wood 
on account of its containing much more potash. Ashes is 
one of the best fertilizers for fruit trees and plants. About 
twenty bushels of unleached hard wood ashes is generally 
sufficient for one acre, but much more may be safely used. 

Kainite. — Potash is also applied to the land in the form 
of German potash salts, a grade of which, known as Kainite, 
is very commonly used as a fertilizer. These salts are more 
or less mixed with common table salt and other impurities 
and form a cheap and very useful supply of potash. They 
are generally sold on a valuation based on the percentage of 
actual potash they contain. Kainite contains 13 per cent of 
potash, which is more than twice as much as there is in ordin- 
ary unleached wood ashes. From 200 to 600 pounds of 
kainite is generally applied per acre. 

Lime is found in abundance in most western soils, but burned 
limestone, whether as fresh slacked or as quick lime, may often 
be used to advantage in small quantities when large amounts of 
stable manurehave been used upon the land for a number of years. 
It should not be used alone, because it exhausts the soil. 

Land Plaster is a sulphate of lime. It is not a direct 
fertilizer, and its method of action is not exactly known. It 
may occasionally be used to advantage for leguminous crops, 
such as clover, beans, peas, etc., in applications of from 200 
to 600 pounds per acre spread broadcast. 

There is little use for commercial fertilizers at present in 
most of the western states and they should never be used until 



MANURES. 23 

the home sources of manure have been exha.usted, and then 
they should be used to supplement rather than replace farm 
manures. They are generally expensive, and results from 
their use here have not been as satisfactory as in the eastern 
states. Only the more common kinds to be met with here, have 
been mentioned. 

Those who use commercial fertilizers of the better kinds 
for the first time are very likely to use too much and seriously 
injure the crop to which it is applied. It is much better to use 
too little than too much and to experiment along this line in 
a small and inexpensive way to begin with. 

Applications of Manures. — The proportion of the various 
plant foods used by different crops varies considerably, some 
using a larger amount of one element and some of another. 
Their visible effects when in excess are also quite different. 
Garden plants that are grown especially for their foliage use 
large quantities of nitrogen and require it in order to be per- 
fectly healthy, and seed producing plants use large quantities 
of phosphoric acid and potash. Where nitrogen in a soluble 
form is very abundant so as to be in excess in the soil, it will 
be found that the plants growing on it are noted for their 
dark green color and rank leaf and stem growth and for late 
maturity of fruit and seed. In the case of small grain, it may 
result in such a weak, soft, succulent growth that the stems can- 
not support themselves, and they become "lodged," and such 
growth may be gained without an increase in the yield of grain. 
In the case of lawns, a soft thick sod is made: in the case of 
spinach, cabbage and other leaf crops, vigorous, large plants 
result; while tree and bush fruits under such conditions make 
a soft late-maturing growth that easily winter kills. 

On the contrary when soluble potash and phosphoric acid 
are in excess in the soil, the plants will have a tendency to 
produce a large amount of seed and fruit in proportion to 
straw or wood and to mature early. This is a desirable condi- 
tion for heaviest grain and seed crops. In the case of bush 
and tree fruits, it conduces to fruitfulness, early maturity of 
wood, and hardiness. These qualities will be most evident if 
the nitrogen is under a normal quantity in the soil. 

It must not be understood from this that any of these 
elements are hurtful, for they are all absolutely necessary in 



24 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

proper proportions to secure best results; but these effects fol- 
low when they are greatly in excess. 

Except in few instances, fresh manure in the soil is not 
beneficial, and its presence prevents close cultivation and 
causes the land to dry out very quickly. Such manure does 
not afford plant food for some time, since it must first be 
thoroughly decayed before it is of any value to plants. Rotten 
manure has much of its plant food in an available condition. 

Manure for Early and Late Crops. — Much more manure and 
more thoroughly rotted manure is required for early than 
for late crops. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that early 
in the season fermentation goes on very slowly in the soil and 
consequently plant food is liberated very slowly, and unless 
plant food is supplied in a quickly available form it is of no 
immediate use to the plant. On account of the rapid fermen- 
tation which goes on in the soil later in the season, crops that 
mature later than the middle of the summer may be able to use 
the plant food that was locked up in fresh manure in the spring. 
For instance, the results from fresh cow manure may be almost 
nothing if applied in the spring to a crop of early cabbage or 
spinach, while for a late crop of cabbage or for corn it may 
answer very well. Where an abundance of well-rotted ma- 
nure cannot be obtained in the spring and it becomes neces- 
sary to use partially rotted manure for an early crop, it is a 
good plan to use nitrate of soda or some other quick acting 
fertilizer to afford plant food until the manure has rotted. 

Manures for Leguminous Crops. — Leguminous crops, such as 
peas, beans, clover, alfalfa, etc., do not need as much nitro- 
genous manure as most other crops that are so rich in nitro- 
gen, since their presence encourages the growth of nitric acid 
ferments in the soil. Such crops improve the land on which 
they grow by increasing the amount of nitrogen in it, and in this 
respect they are different from all other garden crops. 

Animal Manure should generally be spread evenly on the 
land and then be thinly covered with the soil; yet for some 
crops it may sometimes be most desirable to apply the man- 
ure in the hill or furrow. The amount that should be ap- 
plied per acre varies with the crop, soil, and manure, so 
no exact rule can be given. For a midsummer or late matur- 
ing crop, probably eight cords of well rotted stable manure 



MANURES. 25 

per acre would be sufficient in almost any case, and much less 
will sometimes be enough, while for an early crop twice as 
much rotted manure might be used to advantage. 

The effect of the application of animal manures to the 
land will remain apparent for several years. It is generally 
considered safe to estimate that not more than one-third the 
full value of these manures is taken up by the crop growing 
on the land the year it is applied. 

Manuring the Growing Crop. — Sometimes a crop comes to 
a standstill on account of having exhausted the available 
fertilizing material in the soil. In such cases it may be a 
good plan to fertilize the growing crop with hen manure, 
nitrate of soda or other quick acting fetilizer and cultivate 
the land at once. This may be done in many cases by apply- 
ing such materials to the crop during a hard rain or in a dry 
time by plowing a furrow near the crop and placing the 
fertilizer in the furrow. But in any case it should be culti- 
vated into the soil so as to become well mixed through it, and 
much care must be taken to prevent the dry fertilizer from 
coming in contact with the roots of the plants. 

It is a good plan to occasionally change the manures ap- 
plied to land, i. e. when stable manure has been largely used 
for some years apply some commercial fertilizer, lime or land 
plaster, and when commercial fertilizers have been used for 
some time recourse should be had to stable manure. 

Liquid Manure. — Liquid manure is sometimes used for en- 
couraging the growth of plants. It should never be made 
from fresh manure but fi'om that which is thoroughly rotted. 
Urine may be used as a liquid manure if well decomposed, but 
it should always be used with great caution and never applied 
to plants if fresh or undiluted. Cow and horse manure are 
generally preferred for making liquid manure. The vessel in 
which it is to be made should be one-third full of manure and 
filled up with water. The whole should then be stirred and 
allowed to settle. The clear water is then used for watering 
plants. 

Li'juid fertilizer is also made by dissolving nitrate of 
soda in water as mentioned under that head. Ammonia is 
sometimes used in very small quantities in water applied to 
plants, especially to house plants, with good results. 



CHAPTER IV. 

GARDEN TILLAGE. 

By the proper cultivation of the g-arden we accomplish 
three things: (1) The weeds are kept out so that they do not 
shade or take away valuable plant food and moisture from 
the plants whiih we desire to perfect. (2) The surface soil is 
brought into best condition to resist drought that is, into the 
best condition to avail itself to the utmost of the stores of 
water in the subsoil a.nd to prevent the evaporation of this 
water from the surface soil. ( 3 ) The inert plant food in the 
soil is made soluble by chemical action, which is increased by 
the cultivation of the soil. 

Prevention and Killing of Weeds. — The methods best adapted 
for keeping weeds out of the garden are many and varied, and 
depend much upon the condition and kind of soil in which the 
weeds grow, upon the kind of crop and the habits of the weeds 
themselves. The most important step in making easy the pre- 
vention of weeds in the garden is the harrowing or other 
thorough cultivation of the land, just before the planting of 
the seed to kill the young weeds. If this is done thoroughly, 
the weeds do not have any better chance than the crop. If this 
is not done, the weeds will be ahead of the crop in growth, 
and if started ever so little when the crop is planted the result 
generally is that the crop is seriously overgrown by them before 
it is large enough to be cultivated. 

When garden seeds that require a long time to germinate 
are sown, it is an excellent plan to lightly rake over the land 
with an ordinary fine-toothed rake even before the crop ap- 
pears above the ground, providing the work is so carefully 
done as not to disturb the seeds. This is an easy matter in 
case of the larger garden seeds, while it would be impossible 
with the finer seeds, as they are invariably planted shallow. 
When the seed is sown with a drill, the line of the row may be 
plainly seen even before the plants come up, thus making it 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 27 

easy to commence cultivating- in advance of the weeds. In 
case of such crops as carrots, onions, beets and parsnips, 
whicli are quite delicate when young-, cultivation should begin 
with some hand g-arden cultixator, even if it is intended later 
on to cultivate it with a ,horse implement and the crop is 
planted with this purpose in view. Such close and careful 
work cannot be done with any horse implement now in use as 
with the best hand implements. Careful early cultivation is 
of the utmost importance, since if the weeds are removed when 
they are young the work of weeding is small. If allowed to 
remain until well rooted, their removal is often a very serious 
matter, and frequently, if neglected at this early stage, the 
weeds become so firmly established as to make it a question 
whether to remove them or to plow under the whole crop ; and 
often it is the part of wisdom to adopt the latter alternative. 
Aside from its effect in the prevention of weeds, early culti- 
vation is of the greatest value in breaking up the crust that 
packs firmly around the tender growing stems of plants and 
which seriously interferes with their growth. Like all surface 
pultivation it is also an aid in the conservation of moisture in 
the soil. 

Importance of not Allowing Weeds to go to Seed. — A common 
source of weed infection is often found in the few weeds that 
are allowed to go to seed toward the end of the growing sea- 
son in the maturing crop or after the crop has been gathered. 
To some persons it often seems a small matter to allow a few 
plants of pig-weed, purslane, tumble weed and weeds of other 
kinds to go to seed in the garden, but absolute cleanliness 
should be the rule in this particular, and it is by far the most 
economical in practice in the long run. It requires but little 
labor and saves much useless expense to destroy weeds that 
are going to seed. If the preventives for weeds here suggest- 
ed are closely followed, hand weeding will be reduced to a min- 
imum and will often be unnecessary with any crop. 

Weed Seeds in Manure for the Garden.— While the discus- 
sion of the subject of manures for the garden is not the 
special object of this chapter, yet some reference to the sub- 
ject is quite necessary in considering the subject of weed 
eradication. The people of this section have not yet learned 
the great value of barnyard manure and its proper prepar- 



28 GARDEN TILLAGE. 

ation for best results in the soil. This is a subject of vast 
importance, and one that in the future will receive far more 
thought than at present. The manure applied to the garden is 
often coarse and contains many weed seeds and is a fruitful 
source of weed infection. If the manure intended for the gar- 
den contains the seeds of weeds, it should be piled up and al- 
lowed to ferment until the whole mass is thoroughly rotted, 
which process will kill the weed seeds in it. It is seldom ad- 
visable to use fresh manure in the garden, and it should only 
be applied in this condition when free from weeds and then 
only for some late maturing crops, in which case there will be 
time for it to rot before the crops need it. 

Plowing. — In the western states, where the summers are 
often very dry, vegetable land should generally be plowed in 
the autumn so that the subsoil may become sufficiently com- 
pacted by spring to readily transmit the subsoil moisture to 
the surface. Such treatment, by forming a dust blanket, re- 
tards evaporation from the land during dry autumns and dry 
winters when there is no snow on the ground. Fall plowing 
also puts the land in the best shape for the action of the. 
elements and the development of plant food and may be a 
means of killing very many cut worms, white grubs and other 
insects that winter over in the soil. If plowing is left until 
spring in this climate, it should be done as early as practic- 
able and not so deep as when done in the fall. Deep spring 
plowing leaves too much of the upper soil loose and not suf- 
ficiently compact to enable the subsoil water to easily reach 
the surface roots — but where irrigation is practiced there is 
not much difference in this respect. The soil for the garden 
should ordinarily be plowed to a depth of about eight inches, 
yet in the case of some light soils half this depth may be 
preferable. 

Subsoil Plowing, or Subsoiling, is a term applied to the 
loosening of the land just below where the plow ordinarily 
goes. In doing this, the subsoil is not brought to the surface, 
but a special plow is used which follows an ordinary plow. 
This has no mold board, but has a good point and shoe, and 
these loosen the subsoil without raising it. This process 
maybe hurtful or of no value to subsoils so loose as to per- 
mit the roots of plants to readily push into them and should 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 29 

not be applied to them, but for some of the very stiff sub- 
soils of this section it is a great improvement, since it deepens 
the tillable land so that the roots of the plants can push more 
readily into it. This loosening of the stiff subsoil also puts 
it into just the right condition for receiving and holding 
water. It is thus sometimes a great help in carrying plants over 
droughty periods. Subsoiling gives best results when per- 
formed in the autumn. If done in the spring and the oper- 
ation is followed by dry weather, the land is apt to be left too 
loose to hold moisture well that year and consequently will suffer 




Figure 3.— Root of onion plant with earth washed off. The roots went to 
the depth of eighteen inches in the earth. 

from drought. It is seldom, even on stiff land, that subsoil- 
ing is needed more than once in four or five years, for after 
being once loosened the roots of plants penetrate it and keep 
it open. The roots of our garden crops push deeper into the 
land than is generally understood ; even the onion, which is 
perhaps as shallow rooted as any garden crop grown, often 
pushes its roots to a depth of eighteen inches in good soil. 




30 GARDEN TILLAGE. 

while corn roots have been followed to a depth of four feet. 
It is probable that in g-ood land almost any of our garden 
crops will send their roots eighteen or more inches deep. 

Ridging the Land. — If the land is liable to be too wet for 
planting- in early spring, it is sometimes a good practice in 
plowing it to turn several furrows back to back, and thus 
leave the land in ridges over winter. If these ridges, or 
* 'lands," are made fifteen or twenty feet wide, they may be 
dragged and planted in the spring without further plowing. 
For some crops it is often best to open the furrows again in 



Figure 4.— Cross section of ridged land. 

the spring and thus leave the land level. This method of 
treatment permits of working the land much earlier in the 
spring than it otherwise could be worked if plowed flat. It 
also leaves the soil in very good shape for the action of frost 
on its particles during the winter. For early crops on flat or 
heavy soils, it is a most desirable treatment. The objection 
to it is that if not turned back in the spring the dead furrows 
interfere with cultivation; if the land is thus turned back in 
the spring, it may be left too loose. But admitting these ob- 
jections, even then there are often cases where this treatment 
would be very desirable. It should be borne in mind, too, in 
cultivating the garden that, while the soil in it may be too 
loose, it cannot be too rich or too deep, nor can the subsoil 
if not of too impervious a nature be too compact, and yet it 
must be loose enough to permit of the roots entering it and 
the water percolating through it. 

General Cultivation of Garden Crops.— The methods to be 
pursued in the general cultivation of garden crops vary 
somewhat according to the soil, season and crop. However, 
it is very important to remember that the destruction of weeds 
is but a small part of the work of cultivation. The most im- 
portant part in this section is to so fit the soil that it may 
best withstand drought. This is accomplished by frequent 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 31 

shallow cultivation during the period of drought. The first 
implements to use in the care of such crops as are generally 
cultivated by hand are those that work the soil to only a very 
slight depth, close to the plants. Such implements may be used 
just as the seedlings are breaking ground. As soon as the 
plants have gained some little strength, implements should be 
used that will go deeper, until a depth 6t two or three inches 
can be easily worked without endangering the safety of the 
crop by covering the plants with dirt. It is doubtful if any 
of our garden crops should ever be cultivated more than three 
inches deep, and it is very certain that many crops are in- 
jured by cultivating deeply very close to the plants, in which 
case the roots are cut off near their upper ends and thus 
wholly destroyed. Cultivation in a period of drought results 
in forming a mulch or blanket of dry earth on the surface of 
the land, which prevents the moisture from passing into the 




Figure 5. — Iron Age horse hoe. 

atmosphere, and a rather shallow dust blanket, say two inches 
deep, accomplishes this purpose, A compact subsoil readily 
transmits the water upwards to the surface soil in the same 
manner that a lamp wick carries the oil to the flame. At the 
surface the soil water is prevented from evaporating by the 
blanket of loose earth, and is thus saved in the upper subsoil 
and lower and middle parts of the furrow slice for the roots 
of the crop. Loose surface soil is a good non-conductor of 
water. During the growth of a crop the surface soil should 
never be left long with a crust on it, but should be stirred 
after each rain or artificial watering. 

Cultivation to Develop Plant Food. — Nearly all land in this 
section contains immense quantities of plant food. Professor 



32 



GARDEN TILLAGE. 



Snyder has shown that our averag-e wheat-producing- soils 
contain enough nitrogen to raise one hundred and twenty-five 
successive crops of wheat. But only a very little of this 
material is ever at one time in a condition in which the plant 
can take it up; nearly all of it is insoluble. By chemical 
action and fermentation in the soil plant, food is set free. 
This is increased and made more complete by admitting air 
into the soil. Hence the reason for deep plowing in the fall, 
which allows the air and water to enter and thus develop plant 
food. This, also, is an important fact to be kept in mind in 
cultivating land. Where the soil can be kept moist through 
the summer, deep spring plowing is an advantage, as it opens 
the soil to the air ; but on account of the liability to drought 
the practice is a poor one for this section. 






: 4 m 







Figure 6.— Planet Jr. fine toot'a cultivator. 
GARDEN IMPLEMENTS. 

Implements, such as plows, harrows, etc, used for prepar- 
ing the land for ordinary farm crops are also used in fitting 
the land for garden crops. In addition, however, there are a 
number of tools and implements which are not commonly 
used in growing the farm crops. These may be roughly 
classed as follows : 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



33 



Horse Hoes and Horse Cultivators are much alike in general 
construction, but each is adapted to special purposes, and 
both are very desirable. The horse hoes are for use when 
the land is very hard and weedy ; they may also be used for 
ridg-ing the land and for drawing the earth from or throwing it 
towards the plants. For this purpose they have various at- 
tachments. 

The cultivators are especially for the purpose of stirring 
the surface soil and keeping a dust blanket; they do not re- 
move weeds that are well established. They throw very little 
soil sideways and on this account may be used for cultivating 
very close to small plants. Among the best of these are those 
known under the names of Planet .Jr. and Iron Age. 




Figure 7.— Opening and closing furrows with hand garden cultivators. 

Hand Cultivators. — There are many good forms of hand 
cultivators on the market, and they are a necessity in every 
garden containing over a quarter of an acre. They are made 
so as to be adjusted to various widths between the rows, and a 
kind, called straddle cultivators, is made so as to cut on two 
sides of a row of plants at one time, which is often quite an 
advantage. They also have various attachments for special 
purposes. Among the best of these are Jewel wheel hoe. New 
Universal wheel hoe. Gem garden (jultivator and the several 
kinds manufactured by the Planet Jr. Co. 

Seed Drills. — These are necessary in every garden. There 



34 GARDEN TILLAGE. 

are many good kinds offered by dealers. Among the best are 
the New Model drill, Planet Jr. Hill-Dropping drill and 
Matthews drill. 



1 



■.i^^«*5r> 




Figure 8.— Garden drills. (1) A. H. Mathews. (2) Planet Jr. combined drill. 
(3) Mathews combined drill. (4) New Model drill. (5) Planet Jr. Hill 
IDroppint^ drill. 

Combined Seed Drills and Cultivators.— These are very useful im- 
plements for a small garden; for a large garden, it is im- 
portant to have the seed drill and cultivator separate, but in 
a small garden these combined machines can be used to good 
advantage, and thereby make a saving in first cost. Among 
the best of these is the combination drill and cultivator 
made by the Ames Plow Co., of Boston, Mass., and the Planet 
Jr. combined drill and cultivator. 

Marker. — The illustration shows a good form of a marker for 
the garden. It is easily made by any one who is handy with 
tools and is used for marking out rows. 




Figure 9.— A simple garden marker. 
Dibbers are generally made from a crooked stick shod with 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

iron and are very useful in transplanting ( Fi^ 
ter form made of steel is shown in figure 10a. 



10). 



35 

A bet- 





Figure 10.— Common wooden 
dibber. 



Figure 10a.— Improved flat 
steel dibber. 



ScuflBe Attachments for Hand Garden Cultivators.— Fig. 11 shows 
two sets of implements, designed to be attached to the ordinary 
wheel cultivators, which, will work close up to young plants 
so as to cut off the weeds just under the surface of the soil, 
and will be found very useful in many places. They should be 
made out of tool steel, and any good blacksmith can make 
them. The length of blades may be made to suit the work. 



i I 



D £ 



Figure 11.— Home made attach- 
ments for garden cultivators. 



Figure 12.— Scuffle hoe. 



The Scuffle Hoe, shown in Fig. 12, is an excellent old-fash- 
ioned implement for shallow cultivation, such as is needed in 
early spring in the garden. Besides, it is very cheap and 



36 GARDEN TILLAGE. 

simple and can be made by any handy blacksmith. It cannot 
be recommended to take the place of the improved wheel 
hoes for large gardens, but in a small garden it may be used 
for the work of shallow cultivation to good advantage. 
It does not work the soil deep enough for the best summer 
cultivation. 

Plank Drag, or Smoothing Board. — The form of this is clearly 
shown in figure 13. It is used for crushing lumpy soil and 
smoothing off and levelling the land preparatory to seed sow- 
will be found very useful. It can be 




Figure 13.— Plank drag for smoothing the surface of land. 

made by any one. The planks are two by ten inches 
on the ends and eight feet long, lapped two inches and 
nailed. These are strengthened by two six-inch cleats securely 
bolted on. It is drawn by a chain fastened at the front cor- 
ners. 

The Zephaniah Breed's Weeder is an excellent implement for 
cultivating young corn, potatoes, etc., for which purpose a 
fine toothed harrow is often used. 

Potato Diggers. — Of the cheaper forms of potato diggers, 
probably the Hallock Improved is the most perfect. It does 
very good work and where not over five acres of potatoes are 
to be dug, it is probably all that is needed. Where the potato 
is raised on a large scale, however, it is generally desirable to 
use an elevating digger. Of these the Hoover and the 
Dowden are probably the best to be had. They both work 
on the same principle. 

Spray Pumps. — Almost every farmer and gardener needs a 
good spray pump for applyingParis green to potatoes and vines 
and for spraying trees, vines, etc., with fungicides or insecti- 
cides. For this purpose some form of the knapsack spray pump 
is most desirable, where the work to be done is not very exten- 
sive. For applying these substances on a large scale, some 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



37 



special apparatus is needed, and there are many kinds offered 
by manufacturers. In figure 14 is shown the barrel spray 
pump, which has been found most convenient at the Minnesota 
Experiment Station for general work about the grounds, such 
as spraying trees of different kinds where the knapsack 
sprayer is insufficient. The barrel is fastened to a wooden 




Figux-e 14.— Barrel spray pump, showing cone shaped strainer to the left. 
frame and may be placed in a wagon or on a stone boat when 
it is to be used. 

The essential parts are a good hardwood barrel, such as 
a linseed oil barrel, mounted on and securely fastened to a 
light framework of oak. On the barrel and at one end is 
mounted a powerful force pump, with attachments, capable of 
throwing two or three fine, strong sprays at one time. The 
liquid in the barrel is kept agitated by a small stream of 
water passing througha one-fourth inch pipe, having a one-six- 
teenth inch wide opening near the feed pipe of the pump, in the 



38 GARDEN TILLAGE. 

bottom of the barrel. On one end of the barrel is shown a 
cone shaped strainer, which is the best form to use. There are 
many styles of spray nozzles on the market. For general use 
the McGowen, Vermorel or Bordeaux are best. 

The lower end of the feed pipe is covered with a fine brass 
screen. In the center of the side of the barrel is an open- 
ing-, eight inches in diameter, with a tight fitting cover. This 
is so large that the barrel may be easily cleaned. The whole 
expense of making this machine was as follows: One linseed 
oil barrel, $1; pump, $6.50; 50 feet of i inch hose, $3; strainer, 
$1.50; 2 nozzles, $1.25; bolts, etc., 50 cents. Total cost, not in- 
cluding labor of above, $13.75. 

In buying machinery, it is well to regard with suspicion 
those that are very complicated, as the simplest is generally 
the most durable in the end. 



CHAPTER V. 

SEED SOWING. 

The condition for the successful germination of seed in 
the land is that it should be placed so as to have a reason- 
able amount of heat, moisture and air. To secure these con- 
ditions in practice, the seed should be imbedded in mellow 
soil, and this packed around it just fii-m enough to bring- it in" 
to actual contact and make sure of capillary action in the 
soil. If the soil is left loose over and around the seed, 
capillary action cannot continue, and the seed is liable to dry 
out unless the season is very wet; on the other hand, the soil 
must not be allowed to become too compact over the seed, or 
the young seedling will not be able to push throught it. No 
matter how carefully the sowing may have been done, the suc- 
cessful germination of the seed is largely dependent upon the 
condition of the ground. Unless the seed is carefully and 
properly placed and covered, the crop cannot get a good start, 
no matter how well the land has been prepared or how good 
the seed is. Seeds will not sprout in the absence of air, 
and on this account when deeply buried some weed seeds may 
retain their germinating power for many years. Cases are 
on record of yellowmustard seeds germinating after remaining 
in the land for eighteen years. Very frequently, on plow- 
ing land that has not been stirred for a long time, the weeds of 
certain kinds are very abundant, showing that they must have 
been in the soil a long time but could not germinate away 
from the air. 

Depth to Plant. Most of the common, smaller garden seeds 
are planted one inch deep, except celery and some others. 
Peas and corn, are generally planted from two to three inches 
deep. Peas, however, are sometimes planted as deep as six 
inches. These matters will be found referred to under their 
respective heads. 

Always sow in freshly stirred ground, as the seed is far 



40 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

more liable to get a good start in it. than in soil that has lain 
untilled long enoughto become crusty and lumpy. Then, if the 
seeds are planted immediately after cultivation has been given 
and while the soil is still moist, the weeds will hardly get the 
start of the crop planted, if reasonable care is used. In fact, 
following this rule will generally insure success as long as 
there is life in the seed and moisture in the soil. Again, it is 
preferable to sow seeds immediately after a rain rather than 
just before it comes, since in the case of the finer seeds the 
crust which forms immediately after a rain may be so com- 
pact that the young seedlings cannot push through. When a 
crust thus forms over seeds, it is sometimes a good plan to go 
over the land before the crust is very compact and break it 
up with rakes, but this should be done in a most careful 
manner, so as not to disturb the seeds. If a crust forms over 
fine seeds, such as celery, tobacco and others, it is a good 
plan to keep the crust moist, at least, until the seeds have 
pushed through it. Soil that is much dried out in mid-sum- 
mer is often quite an obstacle to the ready germination of 
seed sown at that time, but if the seed is sown shortly after 
the ground is plowed and somewhat deeper than it is generally 
sown in the early spring, and care is taken to firm the 
earth very carefully immediately after sowing, the seed will 
generally come up very quickly at this season. But the land 
should not be worked for seed sowing or for any other pur- 
pose when very wet and sticky, as seeds cannot be properly 
planted in such a soil. 

The Time for Sowing the various seeds varies greatly and 
will be found referred to separately under the several heads. 
Some seeds such as spinach, onion, lettuce and radish may 
be sown as soon as the ground can be worked, while the seed 
of such tropical plants as corn, cucumber and squash should 
not be sown until the ground is well warmed. The early sown 
hardier seeds are often frozen up in the ground and, perhaps, 
covered with snow without injury; in fact, a covering of 
snow seems to help seeds of the hardy kinds to grow. 

Sowing in Stiff Clay Soils. It is comparatively easy to make 
seeds germinate in sand, sandy loam, muck or soil rich in 
humus, provided they contain a reasonable amount of mois- 
ture, but in stiff clay soils this is often quite a different 



SEED SOWING. 41 

matter, as the land becomes crusted over so completely as to 
prevent the smaller seedlings from pushing through. For such 
land, it is desirable to use rather more seed than would be 
needed in more porous soils, for the reason that while a few 
plants could not push up the crusted surface, yet the many 
can do so; and while thick seeding increases the total cost 
of seed, yet the certainty of thus securing a full stand is so 
great an advantage as to well repay this additional outlay, 
and the expense for thinning, if it has to be done at all, is 
about the same for thick as for thin seeding. 

Sowing Seed with Machine. When the soil is prepared for 
best work with a garden drill, it is generally in the best condition 
for the germination of the seeds. The whole surface should 
be fine, mellow and even. There are only one or two garden 
seeds that cannot readily be sown with any of the half dozen 
good garden drills that are offered in the market. Garden 
drills, when properly used, will sow and cover seed much more 
uniformly than it can possibly be sown and covered, by hand, 
and they are a necessity in anyw^ell managed, modern garden. 
It is of the utmost importance to have straight rows in the 
garden, for they are more economical of space than crooked 
rows and are more perfectly cultivated with the wheel hoes 
and cultivator, besides, crooked rows are unsightly and sloven- 
ly. It is generally desirable in using a garden drill to mark 
off the first row with a line to get it straight. If this is done 
to begin with, the subsequent rows may be kept parallel by 
using the marker always found on such machines, providing 
constant care is used. Some growers prefer to mark out all the 
rows with a marker and then run the seed sower in themarks, but 
for a careful workman this is useless labor. Seed drills are 
made with a point to open furrows, a coverer for filling in af- 
ter the drill, awheel for compacting the soil on the seed and a 
marker for the next row. To use a garden seed sower 
most successfully requires good judgment, but a little 
careful experimenting will soon enable any one accustomed 
to tools to handle these most useful implements, to good ad- 
vantage. Sometimes it is desirable to sow seed when the 
ground is so wet that it is not safe to firm the soil over it 
When such is the case, the rear wheel is removed 
in sowing. In other cases, \vhen it is desirable to firm the 



42 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

soil more compactly, the press wheel may be used for this 
purpose, by going over the rows a second time. It is a good 
plan in doing this, to remove the drill point or else tip the 
machine up until the point is off the ground. In the case of 
a few seeds that are rather delicate about germinating, it is a 
good plan to sow the rows a second time with the seed sower 
and thus mix the seed up with the soil. This method puts in 
a large amount of seed, leaves the seed at various depths, and 
some of it is sure to grow. 

Sowing Seed by Hand. When only a very small quantity of 
seed is to be sown, it is often best to sow by hand. When 
this is the plan, the rows are made by the garden marker and 
the seed distributed in them evenly by hand. The rows are 
then covered by the soil being drawn into them with a rake 
and are firmed by passing over the seed with the feet. If the 
soil is dry, it cannot be made too firm; if moist, care must be 
used to prevent packing it too hard. In the case of very fine 
seed, sown in dry weather, many devices are used to bring 
about germination, such as watering, shading the soil with 
boards, covering the earth with cloths and the like. 

Using the Feet for Firming the Soil Around Seeds. Many seeds 
are lost from the failure to properly firm the soil over those sown 
during dry weather. Many devices have been suggested 
and used for securing this desirable condition, but for general 
garden purposes no method or implement ever used can vie 
with the proper use of the feet for this purpose. Wliile this 
matter is referred to elsewhere, it is put under this special 
head to call attention to this useful fact. Peter Henderson 
was the first to call attention to the importance of this method, 
and describes it as follows: "After plowing, harrowing and 
levelling the land smoothly, lines are drawn by the 'markers', 
which make furrows about two inches deep and a foot apart. 
After the man who sows the seed follows another who with 
the ball of the right foot presses down his full weight on every 
inch of soil where the seed has been sown ; the rows are then 
slightly levelled longitudinally with the rake, a light roller is 
passed over them and the operation is done." Those who 
have practiced this method, know it gives most excellent re- 
sults. In my own practice, in sowing seed in dry weather, even 
with a seed sower, which has a wheel for firming the soil, I 



SEED SOWING. 4-3 

have frequently, and to advantage, walked the rows with the 
heel of one foot close to and in front of the toe of the other, 
pressing down on the row. 

Thinning. It is generally *best to sow the seed of most gar- 
den vegetables much more thickly than the plants should 
stand when mature. This is done to make sure of having 
enough plants to stock the land, and it is a good jjractice. 
It is important also, to let every young plant in the garden 
have room enough for perfect development, and this can only 
be secured, where thick seeding is practiced, by thinning out. 
It is a very general fault of beginners in gardening, that they 
try to grow too many plants on their land. This is a 
grave mistake and is no better in results than permitting 
weeds to grow. Every plant in excess of what can properly 
mature on the land is in its effect a weed and should 
be treated as such. In the home garden, where the thin- 
nings are valuable, as in the case of beets, lettuce, etc., 
the work of thinning need not be done all at once, but 
as the plants need room. In the market garden, it is 
best to thin out to the full distance at one time. Do not allow 
the seedlings to get drawn and spindling before thinning, but 
do it, while they are young and before they crowd one another. 
The proper distances between plants seem very large when 
the plants are small, but it must be remembered that later on 
anything less than the proper distance injures the crop. One 
must have determination enough to throw away many nice 
plants in order to make room for those that are to mature. 
It is better to give too much than too little roomto plants. 



CHAPTER VI. 



TRANSPLANTING. 



Avoid transplanting- as much as possible. Whatever may 
be said of its merits elsewhere does not apply in this section, 
since the dry weather so common here in the season when 
transplanting- is done often makes the operation unsuccessful. 
Undoubtedly one of the reasons why transplanted plants 
sometimes give better results than seedlings, allowed to grow 
where the seed is sown, is that they are allowed more room to 
develop in, but if seedling-s that are not moved are given the 
proper room to develop they are just as good and generally 
far superior to those that are transplanted. Transplanting, 
as a rule, is an injury to plants, and yet it is a necessary 
operation in the growing of some of our most valuable 
vegetables. 



"Ifc^' " &•¥ '.Tbilf I'liaM^iii i -iM r-ititff -i^-»» .^-«: 



'^^■^■^■3:^'r'& 



m£Mm 






Figure 15.— A box of youn^ lettuce plants after being transplanted from 
the seed box. These plants may be moved to the open ground or to hotbeds 
or cold frames as soon as they crowd one another. This is a convenient 
way to grow plants in dwelhng houses and in front of windows. This 
style of box is often referred to as a "flat." 

Success in transplanting is dependent on a variety of 

conditions. In moist weather the setting of plants in the open 

ground is a very simple operation, and any one can succeed with 



TRANSPLANTING. 



45 



it without much effort, but during- dry weather the gardener's 
skill is taxed to the utmost to move plants successfully. One 
of the most important elements for success in transplanting- 
is a supply of first-class stocky plants that have not been 
crowded in the seed bed. Such plants make success reason- 
ably certain. A most important requirement in any case is 
that the soil be moist, and not wet and sticky. If it is very 
dry, it must be watered, or failure will be a sure result. 

Shortening the Tops of Plants. It is a good plan to shorten 
the tops of cabbage, celery, cauliflower and similar plants 
when they are to be moved. This may be done by twisting or 
cutting off a third or even one-half of the tops. If the plants 




Figure 16.— 1.— Cabbage plant with long stem set deep. 2.— Cabbage plant 
with top twisted off before planting. 3.— Cabbage plant wrapped in 
manilla paper to protect from cut worms. 

have excessively long roots, it is a good plan to shorten them 
enough to permit of their being handled easily. 

The work of digging the plants should be done carefully 



46 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



and every precaution taken to get good roots. If the seed bed is 
very dry, the soil should be thoroughly wet before digging, so 
that the small roots will not be broken in separating the 
plants. The best time of day for transplanting is generally 
after 4 p.m., as after that time the moisture in the air increases 
rapidly, and the plants have the cool night in which to recover 
before being subjected to the intense rays of the sun. Of 
course, if the weather is cloudy, the plants may be set out at 
any time of the day. If a little shade can be provided for the 
newly set plants, so much the better. This may consist of 
-boxes, boards slightly raised from the ground, shingles, in- 
verted flower pots, paper bags, a handful of green grass, 
strawberry boxes or similar material that will protect the 
plants from the fierce rays of the sun. 




^ 



/ 



,^1*.^*^*^ 



I 



Figure IT.— Tomato plants grown in a compartment box to facilitate trans- 
planting. Such boxes can be bought for a very low price and are very 
convenient aids for transplanting many kinds of plants. They are 
especially desirable when plants are to be sold at retail. 

Firming the soil about the roots is fully as important as 
firming the soil over the seeds and for the same reasons. 
It should be so firmly and closely packed that the plants can- 
not be pulled up without considerable effort. The drier the 



TRANSPLANTING. 



47 



soil, the greater the necessity for packing it firmly about the 
roots. If the soil is wet and inclined to pack hard, it should 
receive only moderate pressure until somewhat dried out. 
The firming- is generally done by pressing with a dibber or 
the ball of the foot against the soil on one side of the roots of 
the plant. When the transplanting is finished, it is a good 
plan to give the plants a good hoeing at once, drawing 
a little loose, dry soil around them to act as a mulch 
and prevent evaporation. The holes for the plants are gener- 
ally made with a dibber (Fig. 10 
or 10a). A spade is often used 
for this purpose, such plants 
as small onions, are most con- 
veniently set in small furrows 
made with a wheel hoe. In ev- 
ery case, however, the plants 
should be set a little deeper than 
they grew in the seed bed, and in 
the case 
of spind- 
ling toma- 
to. cab- 
bage and 
some oth- 
er plants, 
itisagood 
plan to 
bend the 
stems and 
bury quite 

Figure 18.— TransplantiriR aided by the Balbridge transplanter: which takes 
up a ball of earth with each plant. The illustration shows a box of 
strawberry plants just taken up and ready for planting out. In planting 
out the holes are made with the same implement. There are several 
other similar implements for the same purpose. 

a large part of them in the soil, as shown in figure 16. 



A 




U P 




Tomato cans are very convenient substitutes for flower pots 
when plants are grown for transplanting. The cover on 
the end opened may be melted off and a half inch hole made in 
the bottom for drainage. Another way to use them is to melt 
all the joints and use the body of the can by tying it together 



48 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



with a piece of wire. Thus prepared the tins may be set in 
the hotbed or cold frame and filled with earth, into which the 
seed or the plants may be placed. When the time comes for 




Figure 19.— Use of tomato cans as an aid in transplanting. A box of plants 
in the cans, ready for removal to the field and one can opened, showmg 
the ball of roots. The cans are held together by a piece of wire twisted 
around them. 

for planting- into the open g-round, the tins with the plants in 

them may be lifted with a trowel and placed in boxes to be 

carried to the field where the plants are easily placed in the 

ground. The tins may be set around the plants on top of the 

g-round to protect them from the sun and wind. 



CHAPTER VII. 

FARMER'S KITCHEN GARDEN. 

When properly conducted, the kitchen garden should be the 
most profitable part of the farm. Too often its confined area and 
the laborious methods employed in its management make the 
labor of cultivating it out of all proportion to the returns. 
Instead of confining the garden to a small area, it is better 
to enclose one or two acres of good rich land with a good 
windbreak of some kind, so that it will make a garden plot 
twice as long as wide. Leave a headland in g)*ass about 
fifteen feet wide a^ll around, as good crops cannot be grown 
next to a windbreak. The rows should run the long way of 
the land, somewhat as shown in figure 20. If the garden is 
surrounded by a fence, it will be found a good plan to have 
the part at the ends of the rows made of movable panels, so they 
may be removed when cultivating. 

The arrangement of a vegetable garden in the manner shown 
in figure 20 makes it large enough for practicing something 
of a rotation of crops in it and permits of hand labor being re- 
duced to a minimum by the use of horse implements. The 
land should be cultivated flat, except for a few special 
crops such as celery. There is no advantage to be gained 
from hilling uparoundplants,and it isalaborious process that 
can be dispensed with as well as not. When irrigation can- 
not be i)racticed, it is important to have such crops as celery 
and late cabbage on moist soil, but for general gardening pur- 
poses a porous clay soil, overlaid with a sandy loam, is best, 
although a good clay loam will do very well when properly 
cultivated. Light sandy soils, especially those that are under- 
laid with sand or gravel, are too liable to injury from drought 
to be reliable for general garden operations. The garden 
should be near the house, so as to be easily accessible. 

In planning the garden it is important to put all the per- 
ennial crops together, and so arrange the other crops that 



50 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



. CO 

UJ < 



to 

\- 
z: 
< 

Of . <^ 

-> S: 

CD to 



■; 






















■ 








































a 








:U 






> 


oa 






; 


Q 






i 


;C 






uj 










o 


i CO 






u 


; UJ 








i ct: 






1- 

LU 


i 1 






^ S 






< 


?: H 








u^ 
















































\ 


;q 








u 






■ 


CQ 
























:^,> 








LlJ 








z ; 








:! 




























: 










i ; 






: 












CO 


lO 








o 






>- 
_) 


K 








< 






,£' 


5 






iJ 


O 








b 










.-h 


+1 


.h 


.^r 


me 



CO 
UJ 

to 

lO 



CO 

z 

'O ' 

-J 
- u - 

to- - 

D 

2- 

.§. 
u 

LlJ 
I- 

I" ■ 



lu or 



3. . 



.9 .1 ./. Q 



rr 



rlr 



(O 



< 

cr: 

uJ r > 

21 

UJCO 



£.|SXf)W^/ 



Figure 20.— Plan for farmers' kitchen garden. 



FARMERS' KITCHEN GARDEN. 51 

those that grow best in rows of the same width will come to- 
g-ether. The accompanying- fig-ure shows one plan, by which 
this may be done; it also provides for a part of the garden 
to be kept in clover, to be broken up about once in three or 
four years and used for vegetables in alternation with that 
shown laid out in rows, which part should then be seeded 
down for a while. This is a very desirable feature of this 
plan. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

SEEDS AND SEED GROWING. DEVELOPMENT OF VARIETIES. 

It is of the utmost importance to have seed of good pedigree 
in order to grow good crops. No single factor that enters 
into production of a crop is more important. Where many- 
kinds of plants are grown, it is better and cheaper, as a rule, 
to depend on some careful seed grower for seeds than to go 
to the expense of raising them, although it may bo best to 
raise a few of the more important kinds of seeds, for which 
our conditions are best adapted. When one makes a specialty 
of crops like onions, cabbage and some other vegetables, 
it is often advantageous to raise the seed oneself, since one 
then knows their purity and pedigree and takes no risk 
about it. 

Some seeds can be grown to better advantage in one 
section than in another. For instance, cauliflower seed can- 
not be raised profitably over most of the United States, but 
near Puget Sound and in a few other places in this country 
and in southern Europe it can be raised to good advantage. 
Most of the cauliflower seed used in this country is still im- 
ported from southern Europe. As a general rule, how^ever, 
the seeds raised in one's own vicinity, or in a similar climate 
elsewhere, are best to plant if they are properly selected. Ex- 
perience seems to show that seed grown in cold climates 
generally produces an earlier maturing crop than seed grown 
in warm sections. 

Testing Seeds. — No matter how carefully our seeds may 
have been raised or who the person is from whom we receive 
them, it may save much trouble and loss to test them before 
sowing. This may be done by sowing them in a box of fine 
loam, kept at a temperature of from 60 to TO degrees. The 
temperature of an ordinary living room is about right. For 
this purpose use a box about four inches deep and the size of 
a soap box, sow the seed in shallow drills and cover the box 



SEEDS AND SEED SOWING. 



53 



with glass, to prevent rapid evaporation. One hundred seed 
should be counted out just as they come, and be sown. By count- 
ing the seedlings, the per cent of germination of the seed is 
easily obtained. 

A Simple Germinating Apparatus. — A simple method of testing 
seeds is as follows: — Tai^e two plates, and in one of them 
place a folded cloth, vvoolen flannel is preferable since it 
must remain moist for a long time, but any cloth will do. 
The cloth should be free from dye stuflFs since they may con- 
tain injui'ious chemicals. Wet the cloth, pressing out the sur- 
plus water leaving it very damp, but not soaked. Place the 




Figure 21.— Simple device foi' seed testing (open). 
counted seeds between its folds and mark plainly with a 
pencil on a piece of paper the number of seeds put in and the 
date. Then cover with the second plate, as shown in figure 
22. Plenty of air will get in between the plates, and the 
upper one will prevent evaporation. The temperature should 
average as recommended. Common newspaper or wrapping 
paper may take the place of the cloth, but requires much more 
attention. 




Figure 23.— Simple device for seed testing (closed). 
Sometimes seeds that barely germinate under the ex- 



54 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

ceptionally good conditions that exist in a sitting" room or 
g-reenhouse will 'not grovv readily when planted outdoors, so 
that in testing- seeds it is very important to note the vig-or of 
the sprouts. Seeds that start strongly in the house may be 
safely planted at their proper season outdoors, while those 
that start only weak sprouts in-doors may be worthless for 
outdoor planting-. An instance bearing- on this occurred a 
few years ag-o at Chester, N. Y., where an onion g-rower 
planted seed three years old which g-erminated fairly well in 
his conservatory but failed to g-row outdoors, while fresher 
onion seed sown at the same time g-rew perfectly. 

The Curing and Storing of Seeds are matters of much import- 
ance and g-reatly influence their g-erminating- qualities. Seeds 
should be thoroug-hly ventilated while being cured, or they 
mould or sprout, either of which seriously injures their value. 
Seeds of some kinds will sprout several times before entirely 
losing their germinating qualities, but they lose much of their 
vitality by so doing. Moulded seeds may sometimes retain 
their vitality unimpaired, but if to be offered for sale their 
dark color is objectionable, for it must always be regarded as 
an evidence of neglect in curing. It is important also to pre- 
vent seeds, especially tropical seeds, as those of melons, 
squashes, corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc., from being frozen 
until fully dry. The freezing of green or half cured seeds in- 
jures their vitality and often destroys it. This is well known 
in the case of corn where the seed taken from an ordinary 
crib in the spring often fails to grow, while seed corn from the 
same crop properly cured in a dry warm room grows perfectly. 

Seeds are much influenced by the temperature and 
humidity of the place in which they are kept. A dry place is 
absolutely necessary for successfully keeping garden seeds, 
and if warm so much the better for tropical seeds. The tem- 
perature and conditions of a good living room are almost 
ideal for storing all kinds of garden seeds. Most if not all 
our garden seeds are unimpaired by even severe freezing 
while perfectly dry. In a moist place garden seeds lose their 
germinating qualities much quicker than when they are kept 
dry. 

Changing Seed. — There are locations so well adapted to cer- 
tain particular crops, that some varieties seem to lose nothing 



SEEDS AND SEED SOWING. 55 

of their pristine vig-or and productiveness when grown there 
for years, or they may be g-reatly improved in such locations; 
but, as a rule, it is a good plan to change seed occasionally, 
and it often results in increased productiveness. This seems 
to be a fact, while the reason of it is not always so plain. 

Stock Seed. — When seed raising is a large business, it is 
out of the question to have all the specimens planted perfect in 
every respect, but nothing should be planted except it is near the 
desiredtype. Each year enough perfect specimens, or those close- 
ly approximating perfection, should be selected to raise the seed 
for the grower's use the following season. In this way the 
quality of the grower's seed stock is kept up, and without 
such care the stock of seed is liable to seriously deteriorate. 
Seed so selected and improved from year to year is termed 
stock seed. 

Seedsmen's Specialties. — Most seed growers and dealers have 
some few lines of seed in which they are especially interested. 
These they select with more than ordinary care. It is always 
desirable to order seed of our specialties from those making 
a specialty of our favorite kinds, unless we raise them our- 
selves. To secure the best, it is well to order early in the 
season. 

Seedsmen's Humbugs. — Almost without exception every dealer 
in seeds sells humbugs, that is, worthless or very inferior 
varieties. If he is honest, he offers them simply because his 
customers want them. If he is dishonest, he is very apt to 
misrepresent and praise them in order to make customers pay 
a big profit. 

Novelties. — It is desirable to test novelties in seeds and 
plants, but this should be done cautiously and, as a rule, it is 
best not to be in too great haste to try new things. It is the 
general experience of growers, that not more than one in ten 
of the novelties in seeds, fruits and plants are any better than 
those generally cultivated. In the history of the Minnesota 
Experiment Station, the average of desirable" seed novelties 
has been even less than this. 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF VARIETIES. 

There are laws that govern heredity and descent in 2)lants as 
well as in animals, and by intelligent selection and breeding 



56 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

one may greatly improve or even originate new varieties of veget- 
ables as well as of other plants. The seed stock of desir- 
able new or improved varieties may often be sold at pro- 
fitable prices, or by retaining the sole ownership of such 
new or improved kinds one may perhaps raise crops that 
have highly esteemed qualities as to size, shape, color, 
flavor, hardiness, season of maturity or other features, and so 
command an advanced price. Thus a grower may sometimes 
be well rewarded for his care and attention in improving his 
specialties, but careful study and persistence is necessary to 
success, and few persons are keen enough in their powers of 
observation, to succeed in this line of work. 

2'here is a constant tendency for cultivated plants to vary ivide- 
ly from the original form, though this feature may not manifest it- 
self for many generations after cultivation has commenced. The 
higher the state of cultivation to which a plant is subjected, 
the greater are the chances of its producing new features. 
When a plant once commences to vary from the original type, 
the changes ofttimes come very rapidly, and the possibilities are 
endless. Thus from a wild plant two or more feet high with 
only a few leaves has been developed (1) the modern cab- 
bage of (a) the wrinkled, (b) the smooth, (c) the red-leaved, 
and (d) the many ornamental kinds; (2) Brussels sprouts, 
with numerous small cabbage heads on a stem two or more 
feet high; (3) cauliflowers, in which the inflorescence becomes 
thick and fleshy; (4) the various kinds of Kale: and (5) cow 
cabbage, which in the Jersey Islands has been known to grow 
to the height of sixteen feet and strong enough for rafters of 
cow sheds. The many varieties of garden and field plants are 
conclusive evidence of the variation of plants under culti- 
vation. 

All of our valuable garden vegetables are the result of almost 
endless care in selection and in a few cases of artificial as well as 
chance crossing. They 7nust be regarded as artificial productions 
having a constant tendency to revert to the ivild state, which we must 
constantly try to overcome if their desirable qualities are to be 
maintained. 

It ts necessary for the successful breeding of plants to have in 
view a well defined purpose and in selecting seed not to vary the ideal 
standard of excellence sought, for such variation increases the diffi- 
culty of Uxing desired characteristics. 



SEEDS AND vSEED SOWING. 57 

It is found to be quite a general law obtaining among 
plants, that the qualities of the parent are much more potent and 
thus more liable to be transmitted than .some especially desirable 
qualities of a few individual fruits, lohich may occur on a plant 
otherwise defective. For instance, Livingstone, who has done 
much to improve the tomato, selected seed for fifteen years 
from the best tomatoes that approached most nearly in size 
and other qualities the best modern tomatoes without noting 
much improvement. He says, "I was then no nearer the goal 
than when I started. Such stock seed would reproduce every 
trace of their ancestry, viz.: thin fleshed, rough, undesirable 
fruits." It finally occurred to him to select from the special 
meri's of the plants as a whole, instead of from the best fruits 
without regard to the plants on which they grew. Improve- 
ment then came easily and rapidly, and in afew years he obtained 
the Paragon, Acme and Perfection varieties, which were vastly 
superior to and have entirely supplanted the old varieties of 
tomatoes. Again, in selecting seed corn it is more important 
to save seed from plants having ears approaching the desired 
size of cob, kernel, etc., rather than to select the largest ker- 
nels alone or to select from ears after they have been pulled. 

Where it is desired to hasten the ripening period of a variety, 
only the seed from the earliest maturing specimens from a plant 
having the largest number of early specimens should be p>lanted. 
In order to fix late maturing qualities, seed should be saved from 
late maturing fruits on pjlants possessing these features to the 
greatest extent. 

The continued selection of any seed from inferior spjecimens 
results in the fixing of the poorer qualities even more surely 
than the selection of seed from the better plants results 
in improvement. By injudicious selection the cabbage has 
sometimes been changed from a biennial to an annual 
producing no head at all but going to seed the first year. 
When cabbage has been grown for several generations from 
stem sprouts and not from head sprouts, the efl:'ect has some- 
times been- to lengthen the stem at the expense of the head, 
until the seed stock becomes run out entirely and is in effect 
no longer true modern cabbage seed, since it has partly revert- 
ed to the original type. An instance of this occurred in a 
neighborhood in Nova Scotia where, for the sake of economy 



58 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

for* a number of years cabbage seed was grown by cutting off 
the heads and planting out the stumps only, until the stems 
became nearly two feet long and the heads not much bigger 
than twice the size of a man's fist. 

The practice of sowing the seed from plants remaining in the 
garden after the best specimens have been gathered for home use, as 
often happens, is a vei'y poor one. Under such treatment there 
is a very general tendency for the stock to degenerate. Where 
seed is to be saved in a mixed garden, a few hills of plants 
should be allowed to go to seed for this special purpose, with- 
out being picked at all. It is very important to save seed 
from well ripened fruits. Very immature seeds will often 
grow, but they give a weak though, perhaps, very early 
maturing plant and are very liable to disease. According 
to Prof. Arthur, it is not the slightly unripe seeds that give a 
noticeable increase inearliness, but very unripe seeds ga.Jiered 
from fruit (tomatoes ) scarcely of full size and still very green. 
Such seeds weigh scarcely more than two-thirds as much as 
those fully ripe; they grow readily but lack constitutional 
vigor. Professor E. S. Goft' has made a great number of experi- 
ments along this line and remarks that the increase in earli- 
ness in tomatoes following the use of very immature seeds/ "is 
accompanied by a marked decrease in the vigor of the plant 
and in the size, firmness and keeping quality of the fruit.'' 

A few years of careful observation and experience in fol- 
lowing out these principles in the breeding of plants, with a 
special object in view, will convince the most skeptical of the 
wonderful power which man possesses to adapt plants to 
his needs. 

Crossing and Self-pollination of Plants.— The flowers of plants 
are said to be either self-poUenized or crossed. By self-pol- 
lination is meant the fertilization of the female organ (pistil) 
by the male element ( pollen ) of the same flower or, in some 
cases of the same plant but ditt'erent flowers as in corn and 
squashes, which have two kinds of flowers. By crossing, or 
cross-pollination, is meant the union of difterent plants in the 
seed. The crossing of different varieties g-enerally gives in- 
creased vigor in the progeny, but its effect is variable and 
may result in the loss as well as the increase of other desir- 
able qualities. Most of our cultivated plants are crossed by 



SEEDS AND SEED SOWING. 59 

natural processes. The crossing of different seed stocks of 
the same varieties of plants is generally a great advantage, 
since it generally results in increased vigor without loss of 
desirable qualities. Seeds from self-pollenized flowers are 
not as productive as crossed flowers. Darwin found that cab- 
bage plants from seed that had been crossed produced nearly 
three times the weight produced by self-pollenized seeds. In 
the case of Indian corn, experiments made at the Illinois Ex- 
periment Station show that while cross-fertilization is not 
necessary, it is very desirable. Corn grown from crossed 
seed in nearly all cases was clearly increased in size as the 
result of crossing. "Plants grown from self-fertilized seed corn 
were in most cases notably inferior in size and vigor to the 
plants grown from hand crossed seed or from seed simply 
selected which was probably naturally crossed." "One plot 
from self-fertilized seed had nearly half the stalks deformed 
in such a manner that instead of standing up straight they 
turned off at a right angle at or near the point where the ear 
was produced, thus showing the tassel on a level with the ear. 
Many of the tassels were very deficient in pollen." In an- 
other plot from self-fertilized seed, nearly all the tassels were 
abortive. All the plots from self-fertilized seed produced a 
greater proportion of barren stalks or poorly filled ears than 
plants of the same varieties from crossed seed or from seed 
naturally fertilized. On the other hand the flowers of barley 
and wheat are so constructed that their flowers seldom open 
and, hence, are naturally self-fertilized, but even here arti- 
ficial crossing results in increased productiveness. 

The effect of cross-pollination is not always apparent in 
the progeny of the first generation, but is frequently plainly to 
be seen in the crossed fruit or seed the first year. However, 
differences may appear as the result of the cross the second or 
later generation, which were not suspected. When corn is 
crossed, it is generally believed that the effect of the cross is 
apparent the first year in the grain, but careful experiments 
plainly show that fiint corn grains which do not show a trace 
of the admixture of sweet corn the first generation, may pro- 
duce ears the second generation showing some of the charac- 
teristics of the sweet corn. The same truth undoubtedly holds 
as good in the case of other plants. 



60 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

Mixing Varieties. — Practically, varieties of plants can be 
mixed only in the blossom; and in order to mix, the different 
varieties must both be in blossom at the same time. On this 
account potatoes do not mix in the hill. The varieties of 
some species of plants are much inclined to mix. Any two 
varieties of corn, melons, squashes and cucumbers are especial- 
ly liable to be crossed if growing- in the same field and in 
flower at the same time. However, two kinds of corn, of beans 
and of other plants may be grown on adjoining pieces of 
land without danger of mixing, providing that they are not in 
flower at the same time: e. g. , Cory and Evergreen sweet corn 
if planted at the same time may be grown for seed close to- 
gether and will not mix. since the Cory would be entirely out 
of flower when the Evergreen came into flower. 

Distance between Varieties. — The distance which should inter- 
vene between varieties liable to mix is variously estimated by 
different growers, and is influenced by various conditions. 
The pollen of corn, grasses and many other plants is moved 
by the wind; and when different varieties of corn flowering at 
the same time are planted for seed there will be more liability 
of their mixing when the pieces of land on which they grow 
are in line of the prevailing winds than when east and west of 
each other. If a grove or hill intervene between varieties, it 
is a good barrier to crossing. When varieties of each plant 
are not on a line of prevailing winds, they are reasonably free 
from mixing if 500 feet apart; otherwise, at least 1000 feet 
should intervene. 

Such plants as melons, cucumbers, squashes and onions^ 
and most other plants with conspicuous flowers, are pollenized 
by insects to whose bodies the pollen becomes attached and is 
ca.rried from one flower to another. This pollen is not light and 
powdery as in corn and many other plants but is rather heavy. It 
is obvious then that the direction of the wind has little ef- 
fect in crossing such plants. It is generally agreed that dif- 
ferent varieties of plants pollenized by insects should have at 
least 1000 feet between them to prevent mixing, which will often 
occur to some extent even with these precautions. The greatest 
care should be taken to keep stock seed from being mixed. 



CHAPTER IX. 

GLASS STRUCTURES. 

Glass structures are becoming- more numerous each sea- 
son for the purpose of raising- veg-etables and flowers, and are 
destined to continue to increase in use as the wealth of the 
country increases. They are referred to here under the head 
of cold frames, hotbeds and g-reenhouses. 

Cold Frames. — The term cold frame is applied to frames 
covered with g-lass and used to protect plants in winter, or 
for forwarding them without any heat other than that derived 
from the sun. It is the simplest form of glass structure. 




'^^^^^^^"^^^^^5^5^*^^ 



Figure 23.— Movable frame which may be stored out of the way in the summer. 
It is generally made of one inch boards and is very convenient for those 
using only a few sashes. 

They are generally made 4i or 6 feet wide and of an ylength 
or depth which con\enience may suggest. The sashes for 
covering them are generally 4x41 feet or 3x6 feet in size. For 
location, select a place near to water and the house, prefer- 
ably sloping to the south and well protected on Ihe north and 
west by buildings, trees, etc. If there is no protection on the 
north and west, a tight board fence six feet high will answer 
the purpose and is very desirable. In making the bed the 
following are requisites: enough 2x12 in. plank to go the 
length of the north side and the same length of 2x6 in. plank 
for the south side of the bed and 2x4 in. stakes, two or more 
feet long, for each corner and to support the sides firmly in 



62 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

place, and sash and shutters to cover the frame made. The 
planks should be made into a box with its width equal to the 
length of the sash and extending east and west. See figure 
24. Those forming the north side should be six inches above 
ground, and the top edge of the plank forming the southerly 
side should be five inches lower. Thus when the sash is put 
on. it will slope five inches to the south, as shown in figure. 
The planks should be nailed to the stakes, and end pieces put 
in. The earth inside the frame should be thrown out to the 
bottom of the planks and used to bank up the outside of the 
frame. If plants are to be grown in the soil of the frame, care 
should be taken to see that it is of the best quality. The 
frame is now ready for the sash and plants. More durable 
and expensive frames are sometimes made of brick or stone 
for the sides, and sometimes four-inch strips are put on 
wherever two of the sashes come together, to serve as a sup- 
port. Frames are also, frequently, made several feet deep, 
but the same general rules apply in the building of them 
as are described. 

Cold frames are used in the middle states to winter over 
cabbage and lettuce plants, which are started in September 
and planted in them when grown to a good transplanting size, 
but in severe climates this is not a safe method. 

Cold frames are used here in the spring for forwarding 
lettuce and other early crops, and still later for melons, cu- 
cumbers and other tropical plants. They are also used to ex- 
tend the season of growth during the autumn months and to 
protect some of the half-hardy plants, such as spinach, during- 
the winter. They require ventilation in mild weather 
during the day, and on cold nights should be covered 
with mats and shutters or shutters alone. They are very in- 
expensive and very useful in the garden, but where the 
materials for making them can be had at low cost hotbeds 
are much more satisfactory for forcing vegetables. 

Hotbeds. — Hotbeds are made very much like cold frames, 
only they are warmed by fermenting horse manure or other 
material placed under the soil, and hence they must be dug 
out deep enough to make room for it. The amount of manure 
necessary to properly warm a hotbed will depend very much 
on the season of the year at which the bed is made up and the 



GLASS STRUCTURES. 



63 



crop to be grown. In the colder northern states, when the. 
hotbeds are made up at the beginning- of March, from 24 to 30 
inches of manure should be used, and covered with six or 



^o.sVv 




Figure 24.— Cross section of hotbed, 
eight inches of rich soil. Later in the season 18 inches or- 
even one foot of manure may be sufficient. In favorable loca- 
tions, hotbeds may be run all winter for growing lettuce, 
radishes, etc. This is not often practicable in the northern 
states, and cheap greenhouses are generally used during- 
winter and hotbeds only during the spring. 

The hotbed frames for early spring use, should be prepared 
for the manure in the autumn. The soil for spring use should 
generally be put into them, covered with leaves, and the 
shutters and mats put on to keep out the frost. If this has 
not been done, the sash may be put on in the early spring, 
which will partially thaw out the soil in the bed: or, by an- 
other method, more manure may be used, putting it on the sur- 
face of the frozen land, and the frame may be set on top of it. 
In the latter case the manure should extend at least one foot be- 
yond the sides of the frame and be one-half again as deep as 
when placed in a pit, and the frame should be banked up 
with manure. It is quite a common practice to make 
movable frames of one inch boards large enough for three 
or four sash, as shown in figure 23. These are kept from 
year to year, being set on top of the manure and the 
earth put into them. 

Hotbed Manure. — The material generally used for heating 
hotbeds is fresh horse manure, but sheep manure and 
even spent hops may serve the purpose. Of animal manures,. 



-64 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

that from horses fed on hig-hly nitrogenous foods, i. e., on 
grain foods, will heat best. The preparation of the manure 
is very simple. It should be gathered together in a pile, 
as fresh as may be, when if moist it will generally heat, 
no matter how cold the weather. If it does not start to 
heat readily, a few buckets of hot water poured into the 
•center of the pile will start it, if of the right material. 
When it gets nicely started, the pile should be turned 
over, throwing the outside manure into the center of 
the pile and breaking up all the lumps. In a few days it will 
heat again and will then be ready to go into the frames, but 
do not put it into the frames until it is heating thoroughly. 
•Clear horse manure heats too violently and should be mixed 
with about its bulk of leaves or fine straw. The leaves used 
to keep frost out of the frames during winter now come in to 
advantage for mixing with the manure. Of course, if the 
manure gathered has considerable straw in it this admixture 
of leaves is not necessary. 

The way of putting manure in the frames calls for some 
little care. It should be broken up very fine, mixed with 
leaves or other material and spread as evenly as possible 
over the whole bed, taking special pains to have the frame well 
filled in the center, as it settles there much quicker than at the 
^ides. As the manure is put in, it should be packed down 
quite firmly by the feet, taking great care to have it 
•evenly packed throughout. Now put on the sash and cover 
until it heats well all through the bed. If it does not 
start to heating quickly enough, a few buckets of hot water 
should be added. When well warmed through, level off the 
top of the manure and cover with soil six inches deep. This 
soil should have been prepared in the autumn and protected 
from frost by mulching or put under the leaves in the bed ; 
but if this provision has not been made the soil may be 
searched for in cellars, under strawstacks, in the woods under 
leaves or elsewhere, or the soil may be thawed out by the use of 
sash and manure. As this latter process is tedious all ex- 
perienced growers prepare their soil in autumn. 

After the soil is put on, it should be left until it is warmed 
through and the weed seeds near the surface have germinated. 
Then remove the sashes and make the surface fine with a rake and 



GLASS STRUCTURES. 



65 



the bed is ready to receive the seed. A hotbed made up in 
this way in March will continue to g-ive out heat five or six 
weeks, after which it will be practically a cold frame. but since 
after the middle of April the sun is pretty high and the bed 
well warmed, the plants will continue to flourish. 

Hotbeds require more water than cold frames and more 
care in the matter of ventilation. They should not be started 
until a short time before one is ready to use them. If seed- 
lings are to be raised in them to be later on transplanted, 
start only enough sashes to grow the seedlings and do not 
start other hotbeds until the seedlings are big enough to be 
removed into them. 

For the ordinary farm garden four or five hotbed sashes 
is a great plenty, and no more should be started than can be 




Fif^ure ;25.— Firo liol-bed. 

properly attended to. These should be started about the first 
of March. This number will be found sufficient for all the 
early radishes, onions, lettuce, cress and other greens for the 
table in early spring, and for raising tomatoes, cabbage and 
other vegetable plants to be set out later on in the open 
ground. 

Shutters and mats are used for covering the sash of hot- 
beds and cold frames at night to prevent too rapid radiation 
of the heat. 




Figure 26.— Cross section of fire hotbed. 



66 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

Fire Hotbeds.— Horse manure will undoubtedly continue to 
be used for warmino- hotbeds, no matter how much greenhouse 
construction or means for artificial heating may be cheapened, 
but there are some situations where it may be more economi- 
cal and convenient to use a forcing bed, or what is sometimes 
called a fire hotbed. This closely resembles a hotbed in out- 
ward appearance, but instead of being heated with manure a 
,-'"'•-•., flue is used to take its 

place, and it is warmed 
by the smoke of wood, 
coal or other fuel. In 
this case a pit should 
be excavated, fur- 
nished with permanent 
walls and a good 
strong floor to support 
the soil in which the 
crops grow. Ten inch terra cotta or glazed drain tile is a cheap 
material for the flue, or brick may be used for this purpose. 
The furnace and the first eight or ten feet of the flue should 
be made of common hard brick and have a lining of fire brick 
set in fire clay. If the pit is not over thirty feet long the fire 
box should be at one end and the chimney at the other ; but 
if much longer it is better to have the chimney over the fire- 
box and to run the tile to the end of the house and return 
back to the chimney. This chimney should have dampers so 
arranged that when kindling the fire a direct draft may be had 
into it, and after starting the fire the heat and smoke can then 
be forced to go through the whole length of the pipe. This 
arrangement is desirable on account of the difficulty in getting 
a di^aft through a long, flat, cold flue. In laying such a flue, it 
should rise slightly throughout its whole length from firebox 
to chimney. The furnace should vary in size according to 
whether coal or wood is to be used for fuel. For wood the 
furnace should be 18 inches wide and arched over the required 
length, generally 4i feet, with cast iron grate bars set in the 
walls. There should be an ash pit of suitable size, and both 
it and the firebox should have suitable iron doors set in 
brick. The illustrations herewith show the general arrange- 
ment of such a house. It is a good plan to build a low shed 
for fuel on the end where the furnace is located. 



GLASS STRUCTURES. 67 

The heat from a flue is very dry, and much more water is 
required when hotbeds are heated in this way than when manure 
is used as the source of heat. 

A Greenhouse Hotbed. A greenhouse may be heated by 
manure or a combination of manure and some other way of 
heating. In the following- lines and illustrations is given the 
plan of what may be called a greenhouse hotbed which has 
been in very successful operation at the Minnesota Agricultural 
School. The description is from an article on the subject by 
R. S. Mackintosh, of the Division of Horticulture. 

•'There are disadvantages in hotbeds, as, for instance, the 
transplanting, ventilating, watering, etc., must be done from the 
outside even in severe weather, while in a house like the one 



^ 



IBB 



awK. 'L>-^ 



CWl/M LmE. 



y:. 

ELEY/^TIOn. 

Ill 



BED. 



P/IT«. 



BED. 



n/in 



Figure 27.— Plan and elevation of hotbed greenhouse. 

shown in the figure these operations can be carried on easily. 
The house is simply a hotbed built so as to allow a person 
to go inside to do all the work of caring for the plants. 
Figure 27 shows the general plan of the house. The size is 



68 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

12x24 feet. The roof consists of sixteen sashes, each .3x6 feet. 
Any number of saslies may be used according- to the size of 
the house. To receive the most sunlig-ht,the house should ex- 
tend north and south; the light will then strike both sides 




QjiOUm un£. 



<----- 



W 



SOIL. S in. 



nmuRz 

30 in. 



secTioHKL view 



V- 3 k. i 



Figure 28.— Sectional view of hotbed greenhouse. 
of the plants. The south end of the house is g-lazed from the 
surface of the bed up to the rafters. It is not necessary to 
excavate the full depth of four feet, because the earth that is 
thrown out can be used to bank up with on either side, making 
a terrace as steep or as sloping as desired. 

The heat is furnished by two to three feet of well pre]3ared 
manure in each bed, over which is placed five inches of soil. 
The sashes are fastened to the rafters by means of screws 
which prevents their being lifted by heavy winds and at the 
same time allows them to be removed very easily, when desired, 
to replace soil or manure. Ventilation is provided for by 
fastening one or more sashes with hinges at the bottom, so 
they ma7 be raised as high as necessary at the top. 

Many kinds of building material may be used in the con- 
struction of the wall, beds, etc. Lumber is used in the build- 
ing shown in the figure but brick or stone would be more dur- 
able in the end. though it would add considerably to the first 
cost. The posts are three feet apart, extend about two feet 



GLASS STRUCTURES. 



69 



below the planks and are braced. The inside rows of posts 
need not be quite so strong as the outside ones and need not 
be braced. When a house is not more than twenty-four feet 
long it will not be necessary to support the roof in more than 
one place. This is done by extending two of the middle posts up 
to the rafters. 

In figure 28 is shown a cross section of this greenhouse and 
the way the sashes and rafters are joined at top and bottom. 
The sashes are cut so as to fit tightly at the top and the 
plate is bevelled a little, so as to allow water to run off 
quickly. 

There are sixteen wooden shutters for covering the 
sashes on cold nights. These are made the same width as 

the sashes but six 
inches longer. One 
cleat is put on the up- 
per side at the end, 
and the other on the 
lower side at the end. 
When put on. the up- 
per cleat is against 
the ridge pole which 
leaves the shutters 
clear for the water to 
run off. They are 
made of second fencing 
matched and dressed. 

In this house there 
is glass over the path, 
which is not necessary 

5 j^ -, — ^ — o in the lean-to plan, 

Figure 29 —Cross section of lean-to greenhouse shown in figure -9, 
iioi^bed. where the s ash is all on 

the south side of the path. It is important to have crops 
grown as close to the glass as may be, and this fact should 
be carefully borne in mind. This style of house is suscepti- 
ble of many modifications. It may be used as a lean-to on 
the south side of the dwelling, w^here it may receive a little 
heat from the house. Its limitations are about the same as 
those of hotbeds. When such a house is intended for use in 





70 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

winter, it might be an advantage to so plan it that the manure 
from one-half could be renewed every five or six weeks. 

GREENHOUSES. 

Greenhouse is a term applied rather loosely to glass 
structures of the larger sort having some special heating ap- 
paratus, and used for growing plants. The more expensive 
structures are not referred to here but only the simpler affairs, 
such as are most economical for use in the market and home 
garden. 

A very cheap and yet withal, serviceable gi-eenhouse, is de- 
scribed in '"How to Make the GardenPay" and the publishers 

^^- of it have kindly con- 

sented to the use of it 
here. It is called the 
""^ ' 'Model Forcing Pit. ' * 
, ' Fig. 30 shows a cross 
section of this house 
^ which is made with' a 

valley in the center, so 

that in point of fact it 
Figure 30.— Market gardners greenhouse?. • j. ^ mi 

IS two houses. The 

total width of both houses is twenty-six feet. The alleys are 
dug into the ground in each house eighteen inches wide 
and eighteen inches deep and boarded up on each side. 
The beds on each side are four feet wide and the at- 
tendant can cultivate them when standing in thealley. The peak 
of thegreenhouse is only four and a, half feet above the ground 
level or six feet from the bottom of the alleys. The sides are only 
one foot above the ground and are made of plank nailed to 
cedar posts and banked upon the outside with horse manure 
in winter. The roof is covered with movable sashes 7 or "i 
feet long and of any convenient width. Common hotbed sash 
(3x6 feet) might be made to answer but sash having larger 
glass than is generally put in them, is best. Large sized glass 
is preferable, 12x16 inches being a good size. A light frame- 
work for the sash to rest on, similar in construction to that 
shown in figure of a greenhouse hotbed is necessary, and the 
sashes should be screwed down and ventilation secured in the 
same way as there explained. In the center at B, where the 
two roof sections meet, the sashes rest on a plank twelve inches 



GLASS STRUCTURES. 71 

wide cut out f by 8 inches, to form a gutter to carry off 



water as shown in figure 31 
rows of 2x3inch posts, 
two and a half feet 
long and twelve inch- -^^ 
es above t]:e beds: 
these posts are four 
feet apart in each row. 
The total length of the 
houses here described 
may vary according to 
circumstances. The 
house from which this 
plan is taken was 100 
feet long. It was heat- 
ed with a secondhand 
tubular steam boiler 



The center planks rest on two 




Figure 31.— Valley in market gardeners green- 
house showing the way the sashbars are at- 
tached to the plate. 



and at an outside temperature of zero, has 
to carry about five pounds pressure to maintain a temperature 
of 65 or 70 degrees. Two inch pipes conduct the heat from 
the boiler, one line of pipe running up each side of the house 
and both returning through the center at B, back to the boiler. 
The furnace room is an excavation 10x12 feet and six feet deep, 
at the northerly end of the house, built with a good wall and 
roof. The length of pipe required is 450 feet. In the extreme 
northern states more pipe radiating surface would perhaps be 
required for best results. The entire cost of material for a 
structure of these dimensions, boiler and pipes included, 
amounts to about $150. The cost of steam fitting will have to 
be added to this, but the rest of the work can be done by any 
man of ordinary intelligence; Mr. Greiner. whose description 
has been largely followed in the above, says that he likes the 
pipes all above ground as here recommended for forcing 
vegetables, but if v^^anted for starting seedlings and for gener- 
al propagating purposes the pipe had better be placed ten to 
twelve inches under the surface, and encased in an ordinary 
three inch drain tile as shown at D figure 30. In sections where 
fuel is high priced the beds might be partially heated with 
manure. 

Figure 32 shows a cross section of a lean-to house that is 
easily adapted to most locations, but especially suited to side- 
hills. It is twentv feet wide and mav be made of anv length 



72 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



desired. It should have a boiler room on one end or at the 
back side, as is most convenient. It should, of course, extend 
east and west so that the slope will be entirely to the south or 
southeast. The walls are made of cedar posts tightly boarded 
up on both sides. The alleys are two feet wide and planked on 
each side. The roof is shown made of permanent sash bars 
but these mig-ht be made of movable sash as recommended for 
the model forcing- pit. One ventilator is at the top of the roof 
and another is in the side wall. Two purlins extending-the length 
of the house are supported by small gas pipe posts. The 
northerly bench is four feet wide, raised three feet above the 





c. Z' ' 


s — 




.SOIL 


"D r 


f- o 




J-'C 


-SOIL 




—^qK _ 


. ' ' 


n/inuRE- 






ScA.\e iM"*-- 








^i i ;-r» 







Figure 32.— Cross section of lean-to greenhouse, 
alley and is filled with six inches of soil or it may be used for 
seed boxes. The center bench is eight feet wide and may be 
solid or raised. The southerly bench is shown filled with 
stable manure and is practically a hotbed. The same treat- 
ment may also be given the center bench. But where the plan 
is followed of making up a part of the benches with manure, it 
is well to have some or all of the roof glazed with movable 
sash, to facilitate the work of putting in and taking out the 
manure. The use of stable manure to supplement the heating- 
apparatus, is a practice that may be economically followed in 
lo cations where coal is high priced and stable manure abund- 
ant . The heating arrangement could be either steam or hot 
water with the flow pipes high up near the roof, as shown at A 
and B and the returns at C and D. 



GLASS STRUCTURES. 73 

Methods of Heating. — There are practically three methods of 
heating greenhouses, viz. : by smoke flue, by hot water and by 
steam. Heating by smoke flue is described under the head of 
fire hotbeds. It has the merit of being easily and cheaply 
constructed by any one having some little ingenuity. Even 
when made on the best principles it is probably more wasteful 
of fuel than a good steam or hot water apparatus, but where 
inferior fuel can be cheaply obtained a smoke flue may often 
be used to advantage. As for the relative merits of hot water 
and steam apparatus for heating, it is probably enough to say 
that each system has its earnest advocates and that very often 
there is little advantage in favor of either. Where a very 
large heating plant must be used, making a nightwatchman 
necessary, it is best to plan for steam heating at low pressure. 
For small greenhouses, perhaps a hot water plant is best. It 
costs more to put in the hot water apparatus because it re- 
quires more radiating surface, since the pipes are not heated as 
hot as when steam is used. Some exclusive merits are yjerhaps 
justly claimed for a combination of hot water and steam, in 
which system hotwater is used for heating in mild weather, while 
in severe weather the water is lowered in the boiler, a regulator 
is put on and the pipes are filled with steam. It is probable 
that an ordinary tubular steam boiler is the most practical 
kind to use, either for a hot water or steam heating apparatus. 

The amount of radiating surface necessary for heating a 
greenhouse, will depend on the temperature to be maintained 
and the location of the house. In a general way, one should 
figure that glass houses will require at least four times as 
much radiating surface, as an ordinary dwelling house similar- 
ly situated and enclosing the same number of cubic feet of 
space. In estimating the amount of radiating surface neces- 
sary it is always advisable to consult some practical person 
acquainted with such problems. 



CHAPTER X. 

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS CONNECTED WITH THE BUILDING AND 
CARE OF HOTBEDS AND GREENHOUSES. 

The sash for hotbeds or cold frames should be about 3x6 
ieet or 4x4i feet in size; the glass free from blisters, of double 
streng-th and lapped not more than one-fourth of an inch. If 
lapped more than this, water is liable to freeze in it and crack 
it. It should be bedded in putty and nailed in. not puttied in. 
Common window sash mig'ht be used for this purpose in a 
small way, and temporarily, but it is not strong enough to 
last well, and besides, as the sash bars run both ways and 
project beyond the glass, the rain water cannot run off but 
soaks the wood and leaks through into the hotbed, making it 
too wet in places. Also, the cross bars in common window 
sash make a needless extra shadow that is objectionable. 
Kegular hotbed sash is made with sash bars running only one 
way so that the water falling on it runs off easily and quickly. 
Hotbed sash can be bought of sash manufacturers or may be 
made at home by any person having a fair amount of mechan- 
ical ingenuity. 

Shutters are desirable for covering the glass of hotbeds and 
cold frames. They are generally made of second fencing, 
matched and dressed, and in size of the same width as the 
sash but about six inches longer, with a six-inch cleat on each 
end. 

The Mats are often made of straw, but cloth or burlap 
mats are sometimes used. Straw mats are probably as good 
as any kind and are very easily made as follows: Make a 
frame of 2x4 inch lumber the size of the mats desired, four 
ieet wide and one foot longer than the sash is a convenient 
size. Stand this frame up against a wall and tightly stretch 
four or five tarred strings eight to ten inches apart from top 
to bottom, so as to evenly divide the four feet of width. Have 
as many balls of lighter tarred strings as there are strings 
fastened to the frame, and fasten one to each upright string 



HOTBEDS AND GREENHOUSES 75 

at the bottom. Commence at the lower end by laying a wisp 
of strawy cut ends out, on tha string at the bottom and fasten 
it there by twisting each of the smaller strings once around 
the straw and the upright strings. Next put on another wisp 
of straw and so continue until the frame is covered. Mats 
thus made are an admirable protection against frost, and far 
better than shutters alone. The advantage of having shutters 
in addition to the mats is that they keep the mats from getting 
wet, which makes them so lieavy that they break easily in 
handling or they freeze solid and do not lie close or are 
clumsy to handle. Rye straw is best for mats and it is most 
tough and durable when cut partially green. It is often 
threshed by hana so that the straw can be kept straight, but it 
may be cleaned by a threshing machine by holding the bundle 
and only putting the heads into the machine. 

Ventilation and Temperature are subjects of greatest import- 
ance in growing plants under glass. The various classes of 
plants require different degrees of heat to reach their best de- 
velopment. For instance: lettuce, radish, cress and similar 
plants grow best at a low temperature, say about 75 degrees 
in the day and 40 to 50 degrees at night, while tomatoes, egg 
plants, cucumbers and melons, grow best at a higher tempera- 
ture, of 85 to 90 degrees in the day and 60 degrees at night. If the 
formei' plants are kept at a higher temperature than that given 
they are liable to become diseased and infested with insects. 
This is especially true of lettuce. On the other hand if the 
high temperature plants are kept much cooler they become 
sickly and w^eak, although tomato plants will grow in quite 
cool temperature. In admitting air to glass structures care 
should be taken that the wind does not blow in on the 
plants. This is generally best accomplished in hotbeds 
and frames by blocking up the sash at the ends or sides with 
notched pieces of wood. 

The temperature of any place, unless otherw^ise specified, is 
the temperature there . of a thermometer in the shade. A 
thermometer with the full sunlight shining on it, will record 
about fifteen degrees higher than in the shade, which is a 
IDoint always to be borne in mind in ventilating. 

In the weather of early spring w^hen the sun is getting 
high, the middle of the days wdll be very warm and the nights 



76 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

still quite cold and fi-osty. It is then that the beginner often 
makes the mistake of leaving the sashes of his hotbeds open 
late in the afternoon, and the beds cool off more than is de- 
sirable. At this season of the year but little ventilation is 
necessary and frames and g-reenhouses should be shut up 
quite early in the afternoon, and the covering- put on to retain 
the heat as soon as the sun is low. In the warm weather of 
later spring-, the sash of the hotbeds and frames may be re- 
moved in the day and kept on only at night. No exact rules 
can be laid down for ventilating, but it is quite a simple 
matter to learn, if one is observing and uses constant vigi- 
lance. Many persons just beginning to use greenhouses and 
hotbeds fail to get best results from them, because they neglect 
the matter of ventilation. On cloudy mornings it may not be 
needed, but if the sun comes through the clouds it may warm 
the house, or the beds in a very short time, so that when they 
are examined the whole crop has been injured by the heat. 
This is a most common cause of failure by amateurs in charge 
of greenhouses and hotbeds. 

In nature, the night temperature in which plants grow 
averages from fifteen to twenty degrees below that of the day, 
and it has been found in practice that when this condition is 
reversed the plants do not do well. This, of course, can be 
easily avoided by a little forethought. It is a bad plan, gener- 
ally speaking, to ventilate much in cold weather when the 
leaves are wet. On this account it is best to water early in 
the day, so that the leaves may dry off before much ventilation 
is required. 

Watering. Plants that are growing- slowly do not need 
much water, while those that are growing vigorously need a 
great deal of it. Growing plants need water whenever they 
are dry. In bright warm weather a rapid growing crop in 
hotbed or cold frame will need watering every day, while in 
cloudy, moist weather perhaps no water will be needed for a 
week. In fact, watering in cloudy weather seems to encourage 
disease. When applying water see that the soil is wet as far 
down as the roots extend. It is only the beginner who just 
wets the surface soil and thinks the plants sufficiently watered. 
If plants are wilting for want of water in the soil, give it to 
them no matter what the time of day, but it is always a great 



HOTBEDS AND GREENHOUSES. 77 

advantage in such cases to shade as well as water them, if the 
sun is shining. If a long continued spell of cloudy weather is 
followed by a period of bright hot sunshine, it is not uncom- 
mon to see plants wilting that have plenty of water in the soil 
surrounding them. In such a case it may be desirable to 
shade them somewhat in the middle of the day until they get 
used to the sunlight. In cold weather it is a poor plan to 
water most of our plants at night, since the water will cool off 
the air and the plants may be checked in growth, but in hot 
weather the reverse is true and plants seem to get more bene- 
fit from a good soaking in the evening, when they can have all 
night to take the water in, than if it is applied in the morning 
and followed by a hot sun. In watering hotbeds in very cold 
weather use a fine rose sprinkler, and if practicable tepid 
water. At other seasons good lake or cistern water is per- 
fectly safe, and is generally used by commercial growers at all 
times of the year. Avoid getting the soil water-soaked. 

The leaves of lettuce and some other plants are liable to 
burn if watered when the sun shines brightly on them in warm 
weather. 

The soil should vary somewhat in texture for different 
plants but all garden vegetables will fiourish in much the 
same kind of soils. For use in glass structures a light, 
friable, rich, sandy loam is best. This is easily obtained 
when one has been using hotbeds, by mixing some of the old 
rotted manure which has been used for heating them the pre- 
ceding year, with any good sandy loam. If sandy loam can- 
not be had, clay loam may be used and sand added to the mix- 
ture. The manure from old hotbeds is especially good for 
this purpose and should form about one-third of the bulk of 
the soil. 

Boxes. In the case of many plants having small seeds, it 
is a good plan to start them in boxes instead of growing them 
in beds, on account of the better care that may thus be given 
them. When plants are to be marketed, it is often best to grow 
them in the boxes in which they are sold. Frequently, too, 
where plants are started in the greenhouse and then moved to 
the open ground, it is most convenient to have them in boxes. 
For this purpose boxes should be about four inches deep and 
the size of a soap or cracker box. which may be cut down for 



78 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

the purpose and thus make very cheap boxes. Of course 
where the market demands a certain number of plants in boxes, 
they will have to be made for the purpose. The lumber for 
these can be obtained at any box factory and what would be 
otherwise idle moments, may be used in putting- it together at 
trifling expense. 

Substitutes for Glass. Frames of the same size as hotbed 
sash, are sometimes covered with prepared cloth or paper sub- 
stitutes for glass. Such covering, however, will not allow the 
sun's rays to penetrate it easily, nor is it nearly so effective 
in preventing radiation of the heat as glass, but under some 
circumstances it may be very desirable. Sash thus covered 
may often be used to advantage in the latter part of spring by 
alternating it on the frames, thus doubling the amount of sash 
at small expense. Or, they may be used in the warm weather 
of spring, when the sash needs to be removed entirely in the mid- 
dle of the day. They are excellent for covering beds filled with 
recently transplanted crops, since the light is less intense and 
evaporation less under them than under glass. A convenient 
way of forming these sashes, is to make frames without sash 
bars, but with one or two wires stretched across them to sup- 
port the cloth or paper covering. Unbleached heavy cotton 
cloth may be used for this purpose, and the material for dress- 
ing it should be made of three pints pale linseed oil, one ounce 
acetate of lead and four ounces white resin. Grind the acetate 
in a little oil, then add the resin and the rest of the oil. Melt 
in an iron kettle over a gentle fire until well mixed and apply 
warm to the cloth. When paper is used, it should be what is 
known as manilla wrapping paper. Paste this firmly and 
tightly on the frame with fresh flour paste. Dry in a warm 
place. Then wipe the whole of the paper with a damp sponge 
to cause it to stretch evenly. Dry it again, and apply 
boiled linseed oil to both sides of it and dry in a warm place. 
Use linseed oil that is free from cotton seed oil. 

Shading the Glass. In the hot weather of late spring or sum- 
mer, the sunlight is too warm for many plants in the green- 
house and it is customary to shade them. The amount of 
shade necessary will depend somewhat on circumstances. 
This shade may consist of lath screens laid on the roof, but 
more commonly it is given by sprinkling the glass, on the out- 



HOTBEDS AND GREENHOUSES. 79 

side, with a wash made of white lead and gasoline, put on 
with a spray pump or syringe. This is easily and cheaply 
done. It will generally come off by autumn or may be rubbed 
off with a coarse rag or brush. Whitewash is sometimes used 
for this purpose but it is too easily washed off by heavy rains 
to be desirable. 

SOME THINGS TO REMEMBER, IN CONNECTION WITH BUILD- 
ING GLASS HOUSES FOR PLANTS. 

(1) That all joints should be made tight and so far as 
possible, so placed that water will not lodge in them. 

(2) There should be just as much room in the beds and 
as little in the paths as possible. 

(3) The glass should be as close to the beds as it can be 
and allow room to manage the crops grown in them. It 
should be of larger size for greenhouses than for hotbeds 
and in size not smaller than 10x12 inches, laid on sash bars 
11 inches apart. The larger the glass the better. There is 
not so much breakage in large as in small glass. 

(4) A permanent water supply is very desirable. 

(5) The glass should be of good quality, free from blis- 
ters, waves, or other imperfections and what is known as 
double strength glass. 

( 6 ) The heating arrangements should be sufficient to heat 
the house easily in coldest weather; in other words, it should 
be more than sufficient to maintain the proper temperature if 
crowded. 

( 7 ) Having the heating plant insufficient and then crowd- 
ing it in severe weather, injures the heating plant and wastes 
fuel, besides being a trial of patience. 

(8) The ventilators should be large and carefully fitted 
so they will close tightly. When in the roof they should open 
at the top. If they open at the bottom the moisture that con- 
denses on the glass, forms an ice ridge on them in cold 
weather and prevents their shutting tight. 

(9) The smaller the sash bars and framing material in 
the roof the more sunlight can reach the crop. 

(10) The greenhouse roof may be covered with movable 
sash, but it is generally found most desirable to use permanent 
sash bars. Where severe hailstorms are frequent it might be 



so VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

well to use movable sash and take them off in the summer, but 
such places are rare exceptions. It requires a very severe 
hailstorm to break double strength glass, when at an angle, as 
in a roof, and practically there is little risk from this source, 

(11) In the framing of greenhouses, for instance, for pur- 
lines and posts, gas pipe can be used to good advantage. It 
is cheap and durable. 

(12) All joints should be painted before being put to- 
gether; all wood and iron work should be kept well painted. 

(13) In setting the glass it should be bedded in putty and 
nailed in, in this way: paint the sash bars, then run a thin coat 
of putty along them; bed the glass in it commencing at the 
bottom of the sash and lapping the glass one-fourth of an 
inch, on the same plan that shingles are laid on a roof. Fas- 
ten the glass with round three-quarter-inch brads, using four 
to each glass; put more liquid putty along the glass next 
to the sash bars and smooth it off with a knife even with the 
glass. 

(14) Liquid putty is made by mixing one-third boiled 
linseed oil, one-third white lead and one-third common putty. 
If too thick, as may be the case in cold weather, add a little 
turDentine or benzine. It may be applied with a brush but the 
best way is to put it on with a bulb bought for the purpose; 
or a bulb may be made of leather, having a large quillthrough 
which to squeeze the putty. In the latter case there must 
be a hole in the side or end by which the bulb is filled, that 
may be drawn together by a string. 



CHAPTER XI. 

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO VEGETABLES. 

In this chapter only the more common insects infesting- 
garden veg-etables are referred to. There are many others 
that almost yearly cause some damage to our crops and which 
in occasional years cause serious loss. But to enumerate 
them would require more space than can be afforded here. In 
dealing with them it is well to remember that biting insects, 
such as potato beetles and blister beetles, are generally most 
surely destroyed bj arsenical poisons such as Paris green 
and London purple: while sucking insects, such as plant lice 
and chinch bugs, are not affected by them, but aremost readily 
destroyed by external applications, as of tobacco water and 
kerosene emulsion. We should also rememberthat in our war 
upon iajurious insects we have thesupport of most of thebirds, 
and of the moles and shrews, and these should be protected 
as the friends of man rather than be destroyed, as is too often 
the case among thoughtless or ignorant people. Moles and 
shrews are especially useful since they work under ground, 
and feed largely on various insects thatare difficult to destroy 
on account of their living in the soil. It is perhaps no exag- 
geration to say that the shrew (often called mole) will eat its 
weight of insects each day. Insects are also liable to attacks 
of parasites, or of fungous and other diseases, which destroy 
them in large numbers and often in a very short time. 

When insects appear in small numbers, hand picking is 
often a very efficient remedy, but when they become very 
abundant some other method of destroying them must be de- 
vised. 

METHODS OF DESTROYING INSECTS. 

Pyrethrum is the insect powder of the stores. It is made 
by grinding the flowers of the pyretherum plant, which closely 
resembles the common oxeye daisy. It is not poisonous to 
higher organized animals, although very destructive to many 



82 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

kinds of insects. It is otten adulterated and can seldom be 
obtained of g-ood quality. It also deteriorates very quickly 
when exposed to the air. On these accounts it is often very 
difficult to get satisfactory results from that which can 
be obtained at the stores. When used it should be diluted 
with about five times its bulk of flour, with which it should be 
kept in a tight vessel for at least twenty-four hours before 
using, in order to get best results. It should always be kept 
in an air-tight receptacle. 

Paris green is a refuse product composed of arsenious acid 
and copper and is probably as safe to use as any arsenic 
compound. It is only very slightly soluble in water, and is 
used with water at the rate of one pound to one hundred or 
more gallons of water; it is also used when mixed with dry 
substances, at the rate of one pound to fifty pounds of flour or 
one hundred pounds of land plaster, road dust or sifted coal 
ashes. In using it with water, the addition of an equal 
amount of milk of lime often prevents injury to leaves. 

London purple is composed of arsenious acid and lime. It 
is often much cheaper than Paris green but varies more in its 
composition. On account of its being lighter than Paris 
green it does not settle so quickly when put in water. It is 
used in the same manner as that substance. When used in 
water an equal amount of milk of lime should always be added 
to neutralize the free acid which it sometimes contains in in- 
jurious quantities, and which may burn the foliage of tender 
plants. London purple adheres to the foliage of plants longer 
than Paris green. 

Tobacco is very useful for destroying some kinds of insects 
in the garden and greenhouse. It is especially effective 
against plant lice and soft-skinned hairless caterpillars. 
Where smoke from it can be confined around the plants, as in 
greenhouses and hotbeds, it is common to use it in a smudge, 
but when thus used it should be kept from blazing. It is also 
used in powdered form to keep off some insects. A more 
common and effective way of using it, is as a decoction in 
water at the rate of one pound of tobacco stems, leaves or 
dust to two gallons of water. The tobacco should be 
boiled in the water for twenty minutes. When cold the de- 
coction should be used undiluted with a syringe, spray or 



INJURIOUS INSECTS. 83 

otherwise. The decoction will not keep more than a few 
days without spoiling. Tobacco is an excellent fertilizer as 
well as insecticide. 

Kerosene emulsion is a valuable insecticide. It kills by con- 
tact and is of greatest importance for destroying sucking in- 
sects such as lice, scale insects and soft caterpillars, but also 
kills many biting insects. It is made as follows: 

Kerosene oil, 2 gallons, 67 percent. 

Common soap, or 

whale oil soap, i pound, 33 per cent. 

Two pounds of soft soap may be used in place of the soap 
recommended. 

Dissolve the soap over a brisk fire and add the kerosene 
while the water is hot. Churn the mixture or stir rapidly un- 
til a creamlike emulsion is secured. If well made the kero- 
sene will not separate but on cooling the emulsion will thicken 
into a jelly-like paste that adheres without oiliness to the 
surface of glass. Soft water will give far better results than 
hard water for making kerosene emulsion, and soap that is 
made with potash or soda lye, such as home made soap, is far 
better than most of the soap of the stores, as they do not 
emulsify easily. For plant lice, dilute the emulsion recom- 
mended with from twenty to twenty-five parts of cold water. 
The strength of the application will necessarily depend on the 
insects to which it is to be applied. For such insects as 
soft-skinned caterpillars, the emulsion should be diluted with 
not more than ten parts of water. 

Kerosene and milk emulsion may be made as follows: 

Kerosene 2 gallons. 

Sour milk 1 gallon. 

These should be thoroughly churned together until they 
form an emulsion, which they do readily. It should be used 
the same as the soap and, kerosene emulsion mentioned. Sweet 
milk does not emulsify readily but if a little sour or even if 
very sour, it unites easily with the kerosene. This is the best 
emulsion where the water is very hard. 

Carbon bisulphide is a very inflammable material with a dis- 
agreeable odor and readily vaporizes. It should be handled 
with the same precautions as gasoline, which resembles it in 
appearance. The fumes which it gives off are very heavy and 



84 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

are poisonous to animal life when confined with it. On ac- 
count of these properties it is used for killing- weevils in grain 
or peas, beans and other seeds, and for killing- gophers, mice 
or other creatures in their holes. The method of using- it for 
grain weevils, is to fill a barrel or other tight receptacle near- 
ly full of seed, then sprinkle an ounce of the liquid for each 
one hundred pounds of seed and cover the vessel tightly for 
several hours. It does not hurt the grain which is just as 
good and looks as nice as ever after being treated. The 
germinating qualities of the seed are not injured by this treat- 
ment. When used for killing moles, gophers and mice, the 
material is put on cotton or other absorbent and placed in 
their holes, which should be closed with earth over the cotton. 

Catching Insects by Suspended Light.— By suspending a lantern 
at night over a tub of water having its surface coated with 
kerosene, many night flying insects can be destroyed. Among 
those that can be caught in this way are cut worm moths, the 
clicking beetle (which is the mature form of the wire worm), 
and the May beetle (which is the mature form of the white 
grub. ) When these insects become especially abundant this 
method of catching them is worthy of trial. The objections to 
it are: (1) that it is the larvae and not the flying form of these 
insects that do serious injury; (2) few persons are so far 
sighted that they can be persuaded to attack insect enemies 
until they are sufl:'ering from their ravages, and the benefits of 
this method will not be felt until perhaps the following year. 
(3) The observations of Dr. Otto Lugger show that insects 
have generally laid their eggs before they fly much, and only 
the male insects of some species fly, and the females are nearly 
or quite wingless. It is obvious that in some cases catching 
the flying insects will do little if any good. 

Applications of Insecticides.— In applying insecticides it is 
generally important to begin their use as soon as the insects 
appear and not wait until the plants have been weakened and 
set back by their attacks. There are many and various 
machines for distributing insecticides. The machine best 
adapted to this purpose will depend much on the insecticide 
used and the extent of the operations contemplated. For ap- 
plying liquid compounds some of the many forms of spray 
pumps will be found best. For the small garden where there 



INJURIOUS INSECTS. 



85 



is a variety of crops grown, perhaps what is known as knap- 
sack spray pump is as con- 
venient as any general pur- 
pose machine. Where pota- 
toes are grown on a large 
scale, some special spray 
pump that can be geared to 
the wheels of a wagon is 
probably the best to use. 
Where insecticides are used 
in powder form it is a good 
plan to scatter them on the 
plants through a coarse linen 
bag or jB.ne wire cloth. When 
such material needs to be 
ejected with force, a fan or 
bellows may be used. It is 
always best to use poisons 
in a liquid form when practi- 
cable since it is the most 
economical and effective me- 
thod of applying them. No 
insecticide should ever be used 
in a large way, until it has 
been tried on a small scale 

Figure 33.— Colorado potato beetle in iq qqq what its effect will be 
all stages. i. x, i. .. j 

on the crop to be treated, 

since plants may be much more susceptible at one time than 

at another to applications of this nature. 

COMMON GARDEN INSECTS AND METHODS OF DESTROY- 
ING THEM. 




The Colorado Potato Beetle (Bonjphora decemlineata.)— The 
Colorado potato beetle is so common and so well known by 
every farmer and gardener in this country that it needs no de- 
scription here. It came originally from the Rocky Mountain 
region where it fed on the native sandbur {Solanum rostratum) 
which is close allied to the potato, but when this insect came 
to know the cultivated potato it preferred it to its original 
food and has since become a very dangerous pest to this 



86 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

veg-etable. The orange colored egg-s. varying in number from 
a dozen to fifty, are generally laid on the under side of the 
potato leaf. They hatch in about a week into sluggish larvae 
which feed upon the leaves, never leaving a plant until all the 
leaves are gone. They also feed to some extent upon tomato 
and egg plants. When fully developed the larva? descend to 
the ground where they pupate and emerge as perfect beetles. 
There are three broods each season. The beetles winter over 
in potato fields. 

Remedies. The number of these pests varies greatly from 
year to year. The chief remedies are arsenical poisons ap- 
plied to the foliage. For this purpose Paris green and Lon- 
don purple are commonly used. The method of applying them 
varies much. It is a common practice to use one pound of 
Paris green to 150 gallons of water. This must be constantly 
agitated while in use or the poison will settle to the bottom of 
the vessel. London purple may also be applied in water, but 
as it varies somewhat in composition and is liable to contain 
a dangerous amount of free acid, it is safest to use with it 
an equal amount of milk of lime. It is also a good plan to use 
milk of lime with Paris green. Some experiments show that 
about one pound of lime, one pound London purple and sev- 
enty gallons of water, is a safe and satisfactory formula to use 
for this crop. When thus applied the work may be done with 
a spraying machine, a watering pot or a brush broom. On a 
large scale, some kind of a spraying apparatus is necessary. 

These poisons may also be safely applied when mixed with 
one hundred times their bulk of flour, sifted ashes or road dust 
or mixed with one hundred pounds of land plaster. When 
thus used they are easily applied by means of a coarse linen bag. 
There are a number of proprietory insecticides for the potato 
beetle but they generally depend for their success on the arsen- 
ic they contain. But no matter what insecticide is applied, in 
order to do the most good it should be used as soon as the 
young larva^ can be seen on the leaves. 

The Imported and Native Cabbage Worm {Pieris sp.). The im- 
ported cabbage worm resembles our native species and both 
of them are very destructive to cabbage, turnip, cauliflower 
and similar vegetables and to such flowering plants as mig- 
nonette, stocks and nasturtiums. They feed on the leaves 



INJURIOUS INSECTS. 



87 



and will often destroy the cabbage crop unless preventive 
measures are taken. The worms of the imported species are 
g-reen in color, while our native species are bluish with yellow 






Fig. 34. Imported Cabbage Worm, (a) Larvag. (b) Chrysalis, (c) Male 
butterfly. 

stripes. The butterflies of both species are much alike. They 

are generally white with indefinite black marks above and 

yellow or green markings 

on the underside, and are 

commonly seen flitting over 

fields of cabbage or of other 

of its food plants during 

the day time. The full 

grown caterpillar is about 

an inch and a half long. 

The winter is passed in the 

chrysalis stage hidden 

away in sheltered places and from these the adult butterfly 

emerges in the spring and lays her eggs on the under side of 

of the leaves where they hatch in about one week. There 

are several broods in a season. 

Remedies. Pyrethrum powder, mixed with five times its bulk 
of flour and dusted into the cabbage just at nightfall, is a good 
remedy. The flour should be mixed with the pyrethrum over 
night. In a small way hand picking may be successfully re- 
sorted to. If the worms are troublesome where cabbage is 
grown on a large scale it is customary to use arsenical poisons 
as recommended for the potato bug. These, it is evident to any 



Fig. 35. Female. 



88 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



one, can be safely applied before the plants commence to head, 
and recent careful trials and analyses of cabbage thus treated 
with Paris green, show there is very little danger in using- it at 
any stage on the plants. It is the simplest of remedies and 
effectiye, yet not dangerous. There are parasites that attack 
and kill the worms and chrysalides, and Dr. Lugger has 
shown clearly that they sometimes may be destroyed very 
rapidly by disease, as well as insect parasites. "It is not un- 
common to have nearly all these worms die in the latter part 
of any season from one or both of these causes. 

Cabbage Plusia {Pluda hrassicce.) — The cabbage plusia eats 
irregular holes in the leaves, and burrows into the heads of 




Figure 36.— Snapping-beetle or wire worm with larvae, 
the cabbage. The parent insect is a moth of a dark-gray 
color distinguished by a silver mark on each wing. The eggs 
are laid on the upper surface of the leaves singly or in clus- 
ters. They soon hatch into pale green translucent worms, 
marked with paler longitudinal stripes on the back and sides. 
When full grown these are about two inches long. They re- 
semble span worms in their mode of locomotion, hence are 
easily distinguished from the cabbage worm. The full grown 
caterpillar spins a cocoon, generally on the under side of the 
cabbage leaf, in which it undergoes its changes. The insect 
winters over in the pupal state. The remedies for this pest 
are the same as for those recommended for cabbage worms 
and it is also subject to diseases and parasites. 



INJURIOUS INSECTS. 



8^ 



"Wire Worms or Drill "Worms (Elator) — Wire worms cause dam- 
age by boring into potatoes and some seeds in the ground. 
They are the larvae of a snapping or clicking beetles, so-called 
from the ease with which, if laid on their backs, they spring 
into the air with a clicking noise. The larvae are slender 
wirelike worms, having a glassy tough skin of a yellowish or 
brownish color. The larval stage lasts for two and possibly 
five years ; it is therefore no small job to clear a piece of land 
badly infested with this pest. Naturally, wire worms live in 
grass land where the harm they do is not apparent, but when 
such land is planted to corn or potatoes and the worms are 
thus deprived of their natural food, they may become very 
troublesome. 

Remedies. — Late fall plowing is desirable for land infested 
with wire worms since it exposes and thus kills all that are. 
ready to pupate. By clean summer fallowing the land one 
season the worms are starved out. if no plants whatever are 
permitted to grow on it. 

Cut "Worms {Agrotis Sp.) — Cut worms often cause serious 
injury by eating vegetable plants. They are generally most 




Fig. 37. Cut Worm and moth, 
injurious while the plants are small, when they often bite off 
young cabbage, bean, corn or other plants close to or just 
under the ground and thus destroy them. Their work is most 
perceptible in the spring, on account of the small amount of 
growing vegetation at that time, yet they also work in the 
autumn. True cut worms are the larvae of several night 
flying moths which appear late in summer. The female de- 
posits her eggs late in the summer. These soon hatch into 
cut worms which enter the ground and live near the surface 
on the tender roots of grass and other plants until the ap- 
proach of cold weather. They then descend deeper into the 
ground and remain torpid until spring, when they come to 



90 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

the surface and again commence their depredations. Cut 
worms when full grown, are from one and a quarter to one 
and three-quarter inches long- and rather large in diameter 
as compared with the length. Their skin is of some dull 
color, smooth, with often dull stripes and bands. 

Remedies. Cut worms are most injurious in sod land or 
land on which weeds have been permitted to grow in autumn, 
or in land adjacent thereto. They are not liable to win- 
ter over on any land that is kept free from weeds and grass in 
autumn, since there is no food for them in such places. The 
worms feed almost entirely by night, and hide during the day 
time under clods or just under the surface of the ground near 
where they have been working. In a small way they may be 
dug out and destroyed, but in fields and on a large scale a 
good remedy is to scatter baits of poisoned clover through 
the fields This is easily prepared by dipping clover into Paris 
green or London purple and water. Where cut worms are 
abundant a larger amount than usual of seed should be 
planted, that a good stand may be secured even if the worms 
do get some of it. When plants such as cabbage, caulifiower 
and tomatoes are planted out, it is a good plan to wrap the 
plants with pieces of stout paper extending abount an inch 
below and three inches above ground. When boxes or to- 
mato cans are set around plants for shade, if all the worms 
inside of them are destroyed, they afford good protection from 
this pest. Spraying the plants with London purple or Paris 
green is a good remedy. The moths of cut worms, as well as 
such insects as adult wire worms and grub worms, may be 
killed at night by means of a lantern suspended over a tub 
of water having a little kerosene on its surface. This should 
be done late in summer, when the moths are abundant. 

The Striped Cucumber Beetle. [Diahrotica vittata.) — This little 

beetle attacks squash, cucumbers and melons 

when they are young. By eating the foliage 

and tender stems they may cause the death of 

the young plants. When abundant it is a 

very difficult pest to combat. It appears in 
Fig. 38. — Striped , '^ . . , , . 

cucumber beetle, the spring at just about the time the young 

squash plants are out of the ground, having wintered over in 

brush piles or other places affording protection. The beetle 




INJURIOUS INSECTS. 91 

lays its eggs on the roots of corn where the young do con- 
siderable damage. These worms are full grown about one 
month from hatching. They then leave the roots, make a little 
cavity in the earth near by, and undergo their changes. The 
insects spend the winter in the beetle stage. The beetle is 
about a quarter of an inch long and is striped with yellow and 
black. It is very quick in its movements but does not fly 
much, except in the middle of the day. 

Remedies — An extra amount of seed should be sown, soas 

to secure a good stand 
and still allow some for 
the beetles. Dusting the 
vines, stems and leaves 
when they are moist, 
with air slaked lime, 
road dust or similar 
material containing a 
little Paris green or 
other poison is quite a 
protection, and if per- 
sistently followed up af- 
ter every rain will gen- 
erally prevent serious 
loss. But care should 
be taken to put the dust 
on the stems as well as 
the leaves. Paris green 

^. ,^ ^^ , ^ ^ . and water is also a good 

Figure39.— Cheesecloth screen for protecting _ 

cucumber, squashes and melon vines from remedy and is api3lied 

the striped beetle when young. 

the same as for the pota- 

tato beetle. Tobacco dust is also an excellent preventative used 
in this way. Some gardeners having quite extensive plantings 
and many who are working in a small way prefer to cover each hill 
with a box or frame covered with cheese cloth. In this case, the 
edges of the box or frame should be sunk an inch or so in the 
ground to keep out the bugs. Frames for this purpose are 
readily made of barrel hoops cut in halves and fastened to- 
gether or of three slender sticks forming a sort of tent. This 
method allows the light and air to circulate freely around the 




92 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



plants, while at the same 
tected and at slight cost. 



time they are perfectly pro- 



White Grub or May Beetles (Lachuogteyna fiisca). — The insect 
known as the white grub is the larval stage of the May beetle. 
It lives in the land where it feeds on the roots of plants. 
The mature insect is a dark brown beetle, often nearly black 

with breast covered with 
yellowish hairs. The 
body is three-fourths of 
an inch long and about, 
a half inch in diameter. 
They fly at night and 
are well-known insects 
of the spring of the 
year. As beetles they 
feed on the leaves of 
various plants. The fe- 
males lay their eggs^ 
among the grass roots 
in a ball of earth. 
These hatch in about a 
month and the grubs be- 
gin to feed on the roots 
near by. It requires 
two or three years for- 
the grubs to get their 
full growth and they 
then underg o their 
changes and emerge in 
the spring of the third 
or fourth year as the 
beetle described. 
Fif:;are 40.— May beetles at ni^lit. REMEDIES. — The 

grubs are eatan by birds, moles and skunks. They are 
not apt to be abundant in any but grass land recently 
broken up. They are exceedingly hard to destroy on 
account of their remaining so long in the soil. When young 
plants are seen to be wilting from the effects of the grub they 
may sometimes be taken up, the grub removed and the plant 
reset. When lawns or other grass lands are badly affected 




INJURIOUS INSECTS. 93 

they should be broken up and grown in some cultivated crop 
for two years. The beetles should be ti*apped as recommended 
for cut worm moths, when they become very abundant. Such 
animals as moles and shrews should always be permitted or 
even encouraged in our lawns and gardens and the little dam- 
age they generally do suffered patiently, since they are among 
our best friends and destroy immense numbers of white grubs 
and other insects that live in the ground, and are difficult for 
xis to reach. 

Maggots {Antliomyia s]). ) They are often destructive to the seed 
or roots of a variety of plants including onions, cabbage, 

cauliflower and similar 
plants; they also attack the 

• seed of corn, peas, beans 



\. ■^ seasons. 



Life History. The 
maggot here referred to is 
the larv£e of a fly some- 
what resembling the house 
r^l fly. but brown in color. 

'^. W The eggs are laid in or 

umj^iii' j'/i near the surface of the 

4f ground, generally on the 

' food plants and hatch out 

in about two weeks into 
maggots, that commence to 

-^. ,, xj ^ . feed at once and finally be- 

Figure 41.— Bean and onion maggot. *^ 

come one-half inch long; 

these change in two weeks more to flies. This insect winters 
over in the pupa state in the ground. 

Remedies. When this insect attacks onions the infested 
plants turn yellow and look sickly and they should be pulled 
and destroyed. The same treatment should be given to any 
onions that may be found infested at harvest time. When on- 
ion land becomes badly infested with this pest, crop rotation 
should be practiced and no onions should be raised near it for 
a year or two. When beans, corn and peas are affected, the 
seed should be treated with a very thin coating of coal tar and 
afterwards rolled in plaster or other dust. The coal tar may 



94 



VEGEPABLE GARDENING. 



be applied as follows: Spread the grain out in a warm room, 
on the floor about one foot deep and wet it with warm 
water: sprinkle on a very little tar ( which should be warm ) 
and then stir the whole mass thoroughly until each grain is 
coated: then roll it in plaster to dry it off. If this is carefully 
done the grains will not stick tog-ether and may be planted by 
seed planter. This treatment also prevents crows, g-ophers 
and squirrels from pulling newly planted corn. 

When it attacks cabbag-e, cauliflower and similar plants 
it may be destroyed by kerosene emulsion, since the magg-ots 
work on the stem and roots of the plants, near the surface of 
the ground and such an application would be practicable in 
this case, while in the case of many other crops such as on- 
ions, beans, etc., it might be quite out of the question on ac- 
count of the large number of plants that would have to be 
treated to make it effectual. In the case of cabbage, however, 
it may be prevented from entering by inserting the plant 
through a small piece of tarred paper, that is allowed to remain 
flat on the surface of the ground. 

Cabbage Flea Beetle [Haltkus sj).). There are several in- 
sects closely resembling each other and known as cabbage flea 




Fig. 43. Different species of flea beetles with their larvse. 

beetles that feed on the surface of the leaves of cabbage, tur- 
nips, radish, cauliflower, etc., and various wild plants. They 



INJURIOUS INSECTS. 95 

are very injurious to the very young plants if allowed to have 
their way, but when the plants are nicely started they do not 
seem to be seriously incommoded by this pest. These beetles 
are very small and move very quickly. The adult insect is 
black, or nearly so; some of them lay their eggs near the 
roots of the food plants, where the larvse do some damage; in 
other cases the eggs are laid on the under side of the leaves 
and the larvae mine into them and live between the upper and 
lower surfaces. But their chief damage is as beetles, in 
which form they pass the winter. A species of flea beetles is 
sometimes destructive to potato vines. 

Remedies. Since these are biting insects, they are readily 
killed by Paris green or London purple in the usual propor- 
tions. If the plants are kept dusted with air slaked lime or 
plaster, they are measurably protected from this insect. But 
latter applications are greatly improved by adding a little 
poison to them. 

Leaf Lice or Aphides (Aphis sjj.) The leaf lice, otherwise 
called aphides, that live on plants have very much the same 
general habits. They are all sucking insects and increase 
with great rapidity when their food plants are abundant. 
They generally winter over in the egg stage. The summer 
broods are often brought forth alive without the intervention 
of the egg state. Kerosene emulsion and tobacco water are 
the usual remedies but hot water and pyrethrum will also de- 
stroy them. Leaf lice are eaten by the larvse of lady bugs 
and they are also subject to attacks of parasites. When the 
lice are coated with a meal-like covering that sheds water and 
prevents their being wet by insecticides, they should first be 
sprayed with strong soap suds to remove the mealy covering, 
and then the insecticide may be applied successfully. 

Cabbage Lice or Aphides {Ajyhis hrasskce.) These are light 
brown insects covered with a floury substance. They attack 
turnips, cauliflowers, rutabagas and similar plants, as well 
as the cabbage. They work generally on the lower side of the 
leaves where they collect most abundantly. They are most 
numerous in dry seasons. The remedies for them are given 
under the general head of leaf lice, but in addition to those it 
is a good plan to burn or compost all the old cabbage leaves 
and stumps, since the eggs winter over attached to them. 



96 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

Sweet Corn Moth or Tassel Worm {Heliopliila unipucta.) This is 
the boll-worm of the south It eats into the green grain of 
the corn, but is seldom very troublesome at the north. Dr. 
Lugger thinks that it does not winter over in the extreme 
northern states, but that the moths come from the south each 
year. The only remedy is hand picking. It is doubtful if 
they will ever become very injurious in the northern states 
since they do not begin their work there until late in the season. 

The Parsley "Worm or Celery Caterpillar {Papilio aster ias.) This 
worm eats the foliage of celery, .carrot, parsley and allied 
plants but is not often very injurious. The mature insect is a 
beautiful large black butterfly having yellow and blue spots 
on its wings. The eggs are laid on the foliage and hatch into 
small caterpillars less than one-tenth of an inch long, which 
when full grown are one and a half inches long. It has bright 
jellow markings. The remedy is to hand pick the worms, 
which are seldom abundant. 

Chinch Bugs {Blissus leucopteris.) The chinch bug does not 
trouble any of our garden products except corn, but is some- 
times very injurious to this vegetable and 
may kill it in a very few days if .neglected. 
This is a sucking insect that winters over 
in the adult state under leaves and in dry pro- 
tected places generally. When full grown 
it is about one-seventh of an inch long with 
ff i^iy^lV ^^"^ white upper wings, which have two well de- 
"^ / ^'^^ \ 'fined black spots on them. When crushed 
i IKoJ' \ ^^®y have an offensive bed-bug-like odor. 
M \jjS^ ^i. This insect is not aft'ected by cold weather 
but succumbs quickly to moisture. The fe- 
L male deposits her eggs near the ground upon 

T'lg. 42,— Chinch bug. ^j^^ stems or roots of wheat, oats, grasses, etc. 
Remedies. The burning of rubbish accumulations along 
Jieadlands, fences, etc., in the winter or early spring in in- 
fested localities will destroy many. They always infest the 
small grains before they do corn. 

While these insects have wings they use them but little in 
their migrations in summer. They travel on foot and often 
in great numbers. Taking advantage of these peculiarities, 
they may be kept from corn fields by plowing deep furrows in 




INJURIOUS INSECTS. 97 

their way, which should be turned back as soon as filled with 
bugs and new furrows made. Fences of boards six inches 
high with the upper edge kept covered with tar will keep them 
out, but holes in the ground should be made at intervals along 
the line of the boards, which when full of bugs should be filled 
in with earth, and new holes made. A dusty headland 
or road is very difficult for them to get through. If they 
finally reach the corn, they will readily succumb to kerosene 
emulsion. Much is being done to rid grain fields of this pest 
by infecting the bugs with disease. This works most rapidly 
in moist weather, but other remedies should not be put aside 
for this one. 

Bean and Pea Weevil {Bruchus sjj.) The insects known as 
weevils are quite common in some sections. They work in the 
seed of beans and peas. The adult insects are small beetles 
which lay their eggs in the flowers, where they soon hatch, and 
the young larvae eat their way into the immature seeds. The 
hole by which the larva enters the seed grows com^Dletely over, 
so that the seed appears unimpaired externally. In the seed 
the larva does not touch the germ, though it may eat up a 
large part of the starch. The larva undergoes its changes in 
the seed, and when these have been completed the beetles emerge 
through quite large holes in the shell of the seed. While seed 
that is infested may germinate, it forms only weak plants that 
are very sure to fail to mature a full crop. Similar insects 
also attack corn. There is another species that breeds in 
stored grain, peas and beans, etc. , but it is not common as yet. 

Remedies. These insects are generally somewhat local in 
range. Whenever any locality is infested the date of planting 
should be delayed two weeks, by which the beetles fail to find 
the crop ready when they are ready to lay their eggs. This 
trouble generally comes from sowing infested seeds. These 
may be separated from the good seed by throwing them into 
water, when the good will sink, but those infested will float. 
Another method is to treat the seed with carbon bisulphide, as 
recommended under that head. If the seed is kept over two 
years the beetles will have come out. The species that breeds 
in the grain is mosteasily destroyed and keptout of theseed by 
using bisulphide of carbon, as recommended. 

Squash Vine Borer {Aegeria cucurUtce.)— The squash vine 



98 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

borer is the larva of a moth. The egg's are laid on the stems 
of the young- plants near the roots of cucumber, squash and 
melon vines. The larvae on hatching burrow into the stem 
and follow along the center, which causes the plants to wilt and 
finally to die. The full grown borer measures about one inch 
in length and has a whitish body with a brown head. The 
borers leave the stems the latter part of the summer, and win- 
ter over near the surface of the ground in cocoons composed 
partly of earth. The moth emerges the following spring. 

Remedies. This insect is not yet found in this section but 
is common in the eastera sta'es, and where it is found all 
withered or dead vines should be destroyed. When vines 
have only commenced to wilt the borer may often be cut out, 
and the vine recover. It is also a good plan to cover several 
of the lower joints of squash vines with earth to encourage 
the formation of extra sets of roots at these places. 

The Squash Bug {Anasa trist is.}— This insect makes its ap- 
pearance the latter part of June or thefirst of July. The females 
deposit their brownish-yellow eggs in small patches on the un- 
der side of the leaves. These hatch into nymphs, that suck 
the sap of the leaves, often seriously injuring them.- The full 
grown bug is a little over one-half inch long, a rusty black 
color above and yellowish beneath. They emit a disagree- 
able odor when touched. They winter over in rubbish, under 
boards or anywhere they can find protection. 

Remedies. Hand picking in the morning and evening, when 
the bugs are somewhat torpid, is the most practical remedy. 
Boards laid among the plants at night will be found to have 
many bugs under them in the morning, and these may be 
crushed or otherwise destroyed. Large numbers may be killed 
in this way. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



ASPARAGUS {Asparagus officinalis.) 

Native of Europe. — ^Perennial. — The asparag-us is an 
herbaceous plant, g-rowing to the height of about four feet. 
The flowers are small and generally yellow. They are perfect, 

but in many plants 
the pistils are abort- 
ive, so that only 
about half of the 
plants produce seed. 
The seed is produced 
in spherical berries, 
that are vermillion 
in color when they 
ripen in the autumn; 
they are black and 
triangular, number- 
ing about 1400 to the 
ounce. Asparagus is 
one of the most valu- 
able garden vegeta- 
bles. It is perfectly 
hardv and never 





Wr 




1 


mmmm- 


i 



Figure 43.— Asparagus plant full grown. 



fails to produce a crop. It is one of the first vegetables to be 
obtained in the spring and may be used until the middle of 
June. Perhaps, no other vegetable is more highly esteemed 
by those who are accustomed to its use. It may be grown 
with success in any good corn land, but is worthy of the best 
of care, as it responds readily to rich manure and high culti- 
vation. On sandy loam the crop is much earlier than on clay 
soils; wet land is not suited to it. 

Propagation. — It grows readily from seed, and one ounce of 
seed is sufficient for about fifty feet of drill and should pro- 
duce with good care about four hundred plants, though no 



100 



VEETABLE GARDENING. 



particular care is necessary for success. The seed should be 
sown in g'ood soil, early in the spring, in drills which 
may be as close as sixteen inches apart, and should be covered 
about one inch deep. As asparagus seed starts slowly, it is 
a good plan to sow radishes or other early maturing crops 
with it, so that the rows may be seen and weeding commenced 
•early. This practice does not interfere with the growth of the 




Figure 44.— Asparagus root with edible shoots. 

asparagus, as the radishes will be ready for use and out of 
the way before it needs much room. The seedling asparagus 
will be large enough for transplanting to the permanent 
plantation when one year old, and it is the best plan to do 
this, but they may be allowed to stand two years in the seed bed. 
The young seedling plants which often come up in or near 
asparagus beds may be transplanted in July of the first year 
directly to the permanent bed, and do very well if handled 
carefully. At whatever age they are transplanted, the plants 
should be dug and set out in the spring or early summer, as 



ASPARAGUS. 101 

they are likely to fail when removed in the autumn. Aspar- 
agus may be increased by dividing- the crowns, but this is an 
expensive process, and plants so grown have no peculiar merit 
over those from seed. By buying- the plants, instead of sow- 
ing the seed, to start with, one or two years' time may be saved, 
and frequently it is cheaper to buy the plants than to raise 
them in a small way. It is said that plants that do not bear 
seed produce more sprouts than those that do. 

Planting. — While asparagus should always be moved in 
the spring, it is not necessary to move it very early, though 
it is better to do so : it may be successfully transplanted as 
late as the first of June. Any long sprouts that may have 
started should be broken ol¥ when the plants are set out. 
The land for planting should be heavily manured, deeply 
plowed and finely pulverized, and it is important to do this 
work well, as asparagus beds well made should last at least 
twenty years. The opinions of different growers as to dis- 
tance between plants vary much. It has been advocated to 
set tlie plants four feet apart each way, and if the soil is re- 
markably fertile this distance will not be too great: if the 
land is not very rich, it is customary to put the plants at in- 
tervals of three feet in rows four feet apart. Where a bed for 
a family garden is desired, it is probably best to set the 
plants three by three feet apart. About 100 plants will pro- 
duce all the sprouts needed in an ordinary garden. 

Depth to Plant. — For ordinary purjDOses asparagus roots 
should be planted about six inches deep; the deeper they are 
13lanted, the later they will be about starting in the spring; if 
planted less than six inches deep, the roots push up to the 
surface and interfere with cultivation. The plants should not 
be covered to the full depth of six inches at once, or the 
shoots may never be able to push up to the surface. The 
furrows should be made with a plow to the proper depth, the 
plants placed in the bottom of the furrow and covered about 
three inches to begin with, and the furrows filled in by after 
cultivation as the tops grow. By the middle of the summer 
the furrows should be level full. 

Cultivation during the first year can be done almost entire- 
ly with a horse, though some hand hoeing will be necessary 
between the plants. By autumn of the first year, the tops 



102 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

should be three feet high. As soon as they are dead, they 
should be cut off close to the ground with a heavy, sharp hoe 
or similar tool, and then the land should have a light plow- 
ing or be worked up with a harrow to a depth of four inches. 
No care need to be taken about the plants when cultivating at 
this season of the year, but the whole surface may be culti- 
vated or plowed three inches deep as though no crop was in 
the land. In the spring the land should be cultivated as soon 
as it will work well in order that it may warm up quickly. 
There will be no crop to cut until the spring of the third year; 
a very little, however, may be safely cut the second year after 
planting. The cultivation in subsequent years should be very 
much the same as that given above, but, in addition, when the 
crop has been all harvested and cutting is to cease, which 
will be about the middle or last of June in the northern states, 
the whole bei4 should have a thorough cultivation to the depth 
of three inches without regard to the rows, and if manure is to 
be used, it should be put on at this time. Under this method 
of treatment, it is unnecessary to do much hand weeding, and 
it is very easy to keep the soil in the best condition by horse 
power. After the thorough cultivation in June, all the sprouts 
that come up from the roots should be permitted to grow un- 
til autumn, by which time they should be about five feet high 
if in good soil and will have ripe seed. It is necessary to 
allow the top to grow to this extent in order that plant food 
may be stored up in the roots. Very late cutting weakens the 
growth of the plants. 

Cutting. — When the crop is grown for marketing, it is not 
desirable to cut the shoots until the third season after plant- 
ing the roots; however, in the case of small beds in the gar- 
den where the planter is very anxious to test the fruit of his 
labor, it may be well to note that no harm is liable to come 
from a very slight cutting the second season. The sprouts 
should be cut as they appeal* in the spring, and all of them 
should be cut when of the proper size, although they may not 
be needed at that time. If permitted to grow, they interfere 
with subsequent cutting and prevent the growth of new sprouts. 
They will also be in the way of cultivation later in the season. 
The sprouts are generally cut off when about six inches high 
about two inches below the surface of the g-round. and in this 



ASPARAGUS. 103 

case all but two inches of the asparagus is gTcen, which is 
rig-ht for most markets. Some people prefer to have sprouts 
bleached, and in such cases they should be cut four or five 
inches deep in the ground. In case white sprouts are wanted, 
it is a good plan to hill up around the hills or to cover 
them with fine manure to keep the sunlight away from the 
shoots. The time between the cuttings is largely dependent 




Figure 45.— Method of bunching asparagus, showing loose sprouts, boxes 
for tying up in and completed bunches. 

on the weather. In early spring, if the weather is rather cold, 
plants may not give more than one cutting per week, but later 
in the season a good cutting will perhaps be secured once in 
two days. A severe frost will kill all the shoots above ground 
but will not injure subsequent cuttings. Asparagus is 
marketed by tying the sprouts in bunches, the size of the 
bunches depending much upon the market and, in some places, 
on the season and whether the supply is plentiful or not. It 
is very desirable, however, to have all the bunches of one size 
when marketed. It is preferable to tie the sprouts when they 
are just a little wilted and then set them in water to swell 
and make the bands tight. The shoots will easily keep for 
a week if kept cold and moist. It is customary to stand the 
bunches on end in water in keeping them. 

Manuring. — If manure is applied to the asparagus bed in 
autumn or before the frost is out of the ground in the spring, 
it prevents the frost from coming out of the ground and so 
keeps back the growth, unless the manure applied is very fine 
and is at once cultivated into the soil. Sometimes such treat- 



104 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

ment will keep the sprouts from starting- for a week or more 
at a season when it is most relished and the market price is 
the highest. On this account it is an excellent plan to manure 
asparagus in June at the close of the cutting season, as it can 
then be thoroughly cultivated into the soil and does not inter- 
fere in any way with the growth of the plants in the spring. 
Asparagus is a rank feeder and needs lots of manure for the 
best results. Salt may be applied to asparagus to such an 
extent as to kill all the weeds without injuring the plants, and 
yet careful experiments seem to show that salt is of no special 
value as a manure for this crop. 

Asparagus seed is readily taken from the fruits in which 
it grows by macerating the fruit in water and then drying it. 

Forcing Asparagus for early use is being done to some ex- 
tent near large cities, where it is often a profitable undertak- 
ing. For this purpose the roots must be dug in the fall and 
carefully stored in earth in a cellar. In March make a good, 
slow hotbed and put the roots in it in good soil. It is im- 
portant to start the roots slowly, or the shoots will be spind- 
ing and weak. The- roots stored as recommended may also 
be forced into growth in a warm cellar, shed, greenhouse, or 
in a part of a permanent bed enclosed in glass or cotton 
sheeting. 

Varieties.— There are a number of varieties, and they are 
all of them desirable when given good cultivation. Among 
the best kinds are Conover's Colossal, Moore's and Palmetto. 

BEANS [Phaseolus.) 

Annual. — The common beans of this country are natives of 
the warmer parts of South America. They are sometimes 
referred to as kidney or French beans (P. vuJgaris.) Besides 
these, the Lima beans (P. lunatus) are cultivated to a limited 
extent. The comfnon broad bean of Europe is an entirely 
different vegetable from the kinds generally grown here and 
is not sufficiently prolific in this section to make it worthy of 
cultivation. There are many varieties of beans, and the 
varieties of each species readily cross together, the flowers 
being especially adapted to crossing. They vary from one 
aDother in many particulars; some are low, bushy and erect, 
while others are twining and have stems that grow ten or more 



BEANS. 



105 



feet in a season. There are g-radations between these extremes, 
as well as in size, color and shape of seed and plant. The 
twining- stem kinds always twine from right to left around any 
support they can lay hold of. In a horticultural way, beans 
are divided into the bush and pole varieties. Under the first 
class are included all the field varieties that are grown to be 
used as shelled beans and some snap and string beans. They 
have stout, erect or slightly running stems. Under pole beans 
are classed all the kinds that have twining stems and which 
are benefited by having support of some kind. There are, 
however, dwarf bush beans having the same general features 
as the pole kinds except the tall stem. While this division is 
by no means distinct, yet the methods of cultivation adapted 
to each group are different. All beans are quite tender and 
should not be planted until the soil is warm and all danger of 
frost is over. They are sown for early use about the time for 
general corn planting. For the main crop, they should be 
planted about the first of June. 

Bush Beans.— These are very easily grown and adapted to a 
great variety of purposes. For a field crop on a large scale, 

the seed is generally 
sown with a horse 
di'ill or with a gar- 
den drill, in rows 
three feet apart. It 
is sometimes best to 
mark out the land 
first and then follow 
with the drill in the 
marks. Seed should 
be sown two or three 
inches deep. On a 
snpialler scale, the land 
may be furrowed out 
with a one-horse plow 
o^ with a wheel hoe, 
and the seed sowed 
Fig. 46. Bush bean. by hand. The after 

cultureconsists in keeping the land well cultivated with ahorse 
hoe and free from weeds. Varieties of dwarf beans for use in 




106 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



a green state, such as string- or snap beans, may be sown any- 
time from the middle of May to the first of August, and with 
good prospects of a good crop of green pods. Some kinds 
have edible pods in less than six weeks from the time the seed 
is sown. 

Harvesting Beans. — For use in a green state, the pods of 
some kinds are picked as soon as large enough to use and 
when they are tender and fresh; in other cases, the beans are 
used when still fresh and as soon as they are large enough to 
shell from the pods. Field beans are harvested by being 
pulled by hand or gathered with a bean gatherer when they 
are ripe, laid in rows until dry enough for threshing, then 
threshed at once or stored for threshing later on. Great care 
should be taken in storing the pods to prevent molding of the 
beans, and in threshing not to break the beans. In a small 
way, beans may be threshed out by hand, but on a large scale 
any common threshing machine may be used, providing suit- 
able changes are made in it so it will not break the beans. 

Varieties of Bush Beans. — There are many varieties of bush 
beans having desirable qualities, but only a few of the most 

valuable are mentioned here: 

Field Beans.— White Mar- 
row, Burlingame Medium. Navy, 
and Snowflake. 

Waxen Podded Beans. — 
Dwarf Golden Wax and Dwarf 
Black Wax. 

Shell and String Beans. 
— Yellow Six Weeks, EarlyMo- 
hawk. Cranberry and Dwarf 
Horticultural. 

Japanese, Soy or Soja 
Beans. — These are easily grown, 
but on account of their inferior 
quality are not much used here. 
-These are highly esteemed by 
although smaller in size than the 
pole Limas, are supplanting them in this section and com- 
ing into general use, on account of their being more cer- 




Fig, 47.— Dwarf Lima bean. 

Dwarf Lima Beans 
those who know them, and 



BEANS. 107 

tain to mature well and requiring- less labor in cultivation. 
They require the same methods of cultivation as other dwarf 
beans but should not be planted until the land is thoroughly 
warmed. The best varieties are known as Henderson's Dwarf, 
Burpee's Dwarf, Jackson \Yonder (black spotted) and Kumerle 
Dwarf Lima. The common dwarf beans are early, productive 
and good, but not so rich in quality as these. 

Pole Beans. — The twining varieties of beans are little grown 
in this section, as the improved dwarf kinds take their place 
to a great extent. However, tall Lima beans are highly 
esteemed by many, and the dwarf varieties of them are not 
so desirable as the pole kinds. Thereis also a demand for sucli 
shell beans as the pole Horticultural, Cranberry and Case- 
knife varieties. Pole beans require stronger land than do the 
dwarf kinds. The ordinary way of growing pole beans is to 
set poles six feet long in hills four feet apart each way. It i& 
customary to put a shovelful of good compost or rotted 
manure in each hill if the land is poor. Seed should not be 
planted till the ground is quite warm — the pole varieties are 
more particular in this respect than the dwarf kinds. About 
six seeds should be planted two or three inches deep around 
each pole. In the case of the Lima bean, the general belief is 
that the beans should be planted edgeways with the eye down- 
wards, but good results are often obtained by sowing the 
seeds without regard to this matter. This latter method is 
customary in sowing the dwarf Lima, and some who sow the 
large Lima beans in furrows and train them to trellises pay 
no regard to the position of the seed in the soil, but sow 
abundance of seed so as to have a good stand. Lima beans 
«,re generally shelled by hand when fresh but full grown and 
are" sold by the quart. In warm climates they are sold in 
large quantities after being dried. The Cranberry and Horti- 
cultural kinds are generally sold in the pod. As soon as the 
seedlings commence to '"run," it is customary to assist them 
in getting started, and some seasons it is necessary to tie the 
Lima beans to the poles. Lima beans require an extra warm 
location and soil. 

Beans may be transplanted if removed with care when the 
soil is moist. Some very successful gardeners find that it 
pays them to start their pole Lima beans on pieces of sod or- 



108 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



in pots or in boxes in hotbeds and in this way advance the 
period of ripening two weeks or more. This is a very desir- 
able practice with pole Lima beans in this climate, since the 
short season often fails to mature much of the crop when the 
•seed is planted in the open ground. The varieties of pole 
lima beans best adapted to this section are probably the Large 
Lima and Dreer's Lima; both of these are of fine quality and 
productive. The small Lima or Sieva bean is earlier than 
those mentioned but of inferior quality. 

Preserving Beans in Salt. — String beans are easily preserved 
for winter use in salt, using about seven pounds to the bushel 

of pods. In doing this the fresh 
tender pods are put at once into the 
brine as they come from the field. 
When wanted for use, they should 
be freshened out and cooked in the 
ordinary way. They are very good; 
in fact, they are nearly as good as 
the best canned beans. 

^Jj^ k . Diseases and Insects. — Beans are 

/-r™*-^H| ' r^j ^ quite free from the attacks of any 

I^P ^J. ' injurious insects or diseases. An- 

M^ m thracnose of the bean {Gloeosporium 

wMk fj Lindennthianum) shows itself by 

W ij black spots on the stems or pods 

or both. It is sometimes very in- 
jurious in moist weather, but only 
in occasional years have we any- 
thing to fear from it. It is not gen- 
erally considered profitable to use any of the fungicides, such 
as Bordeaux mixture, which would readily prevent it. 




Fig. 48.— Anthracnose of 
bean pods. 



BEETS. {Beta vulgaris.) 

• Native of Europe.— Biennial. — This plant in the first year 
•of its growth forms a fleshy root, and goes to seed the second 
year. The seed stalk is about four feet high. What is usual- 
ly sold and planted as beet seed is in reality a fruit and is 
made up of several seeds imbedded in the cork-like calyx ; the 
seed itself is very small and kidney shaped, with a thin brown 



BEETS. 



10» 



skill. The roots vary greatly in form, size and in color 
from a reddish white to a deep dark red. Some varieties have 
special qualities for table use, while others are valuable for 
feeding stock or for sugar only. 

The garden beet is easily grown and is a very reliable 
crop. It prefers a very rich, sandy, well-worked soil but will 
grow in any good corn land. For early use, some early 
maturing kind should be selected, and the seeds should be 
sown in rows sixteen inches apart in the open ground as soon 

as the soil can be worked in 
the spring. Ten seeds should 
be sown to each foot of row 
and covered one inch deep. 
The young plants will stand 
quite a severe frost without 
injury. As soon as the seed- 
lings appear they should be 
cultivated with a wheel hoe, 
and the cultivation repeated 
at frequent intervals. When 
they are eight or ten inches 
high, thinning should be com- 
menced and continued until 
the plants are six inches apart 
in the rows. These thinnings 
make excellent greens. If 
sown as recommended, they 
will be large enough for table 
use in June and will be good 
Fig. 49.— Bunch of EcUpse beets. for use the rest of the summer. 
For winter use, the seed should not be sown until the last of 
May or first of June. For late planting, some growers prefer 
to put the rows two feet or more apart, so that when the plants 
are nicely started they can be cultivated by horse power. 
Stock and sugar beets should be sown in rows about thirty 
inches apart, to allow of easy cultivation. These should be 
sown from the middle to the last of May and covered some- 
what deeper than is recommended for early table beets, per- 
haps one and one-half inches deep. The importance of very 
early and constant cultivation cannot be too strongly insisted 




110 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

on. Beet seed may be sown by a machine seed sower, but 
most of the sowers in use will need a little more careful watch- 
ing when sowing- this than with other seeds, as the roug-h seeds 
(fruits) are liable to clog" the feed hole. There are a few beet 
seed sowing machines adapted for horse power that it will prob- 
ably pay one to use where a large amount of land is to be 
■cultivated in beets. About six pounds of seed are required 
per acre, and it is always a good plan to sow an abundance 
of seed, as it does not start very uniformly. 

Forcing Beets. — Beets are easily forced by sowing the early 
maturing kinds in February or March in hotbeds, where they 
may be left to mature or may be transplanted when of proper 
size. It is, however, best to allow them to grow to table 
size without transplanting, as this always puts the plants 
back, and they recover from it slowly. 

Harvesting and Keeping Beets. — On the approach of severe 
weather — in this section about the middle of October — beets 
should be pulled and the tops cut or twisted off, but the top 
of the root should not be cut off. Light frosts do not hurt 
them much, especially when they are protected with a heavy 
growth of foliage, but when the surface of the ground freezes 
hard there is danger of joermanent injury to the roots. Beets 
are easily kept in a cold cellar. It is generally best to pit 
them outdoors when dug, to remain there until severe weather 
sets in. If the air of the cellar is very dry, the beets should 
be covered with earth after being put in bins, or they will wilt 
and become corky. Beet seed is grown by planting out the 
roots about the middle of May, two feet apart in rows three 
feet apart. The seed ripens in the summer and is generally 
threshed off as soon as ripe. 

Varieties. — There are many cultivated varieties of beets, 
which vary considerably in size, form, color, time of maturing 
and other characteristics. Among the most valuable are the 
following: 

Eclipse. — A very early, dark red, turnip-shaped beet of 
good quality. Valuable for early or late sowing. A favorite 
with market gardeners. 

Egyptian, — Valuable for early sowing. 

Bastian's Early Turnip Beet.— A valuable early sort, 



BEETS. Ill 

tender, sweet and good in every way; valuable for early or 
late planting-. 

Dewing' s Improved Blood Turnip Beet.— A first-class 
beet in every respect; valuable for winter or summer use. 

Diseases of Beets. — The beet is subject to several diseases, 
and it is most healthy when grown on new land. 

Beet Scab is a disease which ruptures the skin of the 
beet in a manner similar to potato scab on potatoes. Recent 
investigations show that the form of this disease is the same 
as the potato scab. On this account, beets should not follow 
IDotatoes on land that has grown a scabby crop unless there is 
an interval of several years between them. Beets are some- 
times subject to a rust that injures the foliage, but seldom very 
seriously. 

Stock Beets. Stock beets are gross feeders and prefer 
rich soil. They require the same care as table beets, but the 
rows should be thirty inches apart, so as to allow of cultiva- 
ting them with a horse implement. The seed may be sown with 
any common garden seed drill after first laying off the rows 
with a marker, or it may be sown with a common grain drill 
by stopping the flow of seed through a part of the holes. It is 
a very good plan to sow radish or rutabaga seed with the beet 
seed, as it starts quickly and the line of the row is thus easily 
seen, so that cultivation may be started early. This is very 
important in land that is somewhat weedy. About six pounds 
of seed to the aci'e will give about twelve seeds (fruits) to a 

foot. 

There are many good varie- 
ties of stock beets. Among the 
best are the Long Red, Yellow, 
or Golden Tankard, Yellow Globe 
and American Sugar. The latter 
is not a true sugar beet but is 
much richer in sugar than the or- 
dinary varieties of stock beets 
and, possibly, of better feeding 
value. 

Sugar Beets, from which is 
Fig. 50. Sugar Beet. made a large amount of the 

sugar of comimerce, are grown in a similar way to stock beets 




112 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



but on a large scale require a rather different and special 
treatment. There is no trouble about raising them with a 
large percentage of sugar in an^ of the northern states, but 
the drawbacks to its becoming a more general industry are the 
very expensive machinery required to extract the sugar econ- 
omically on a large scale, the small margin of profit and the 
low price the manufacturers have been willing to pay for the 
beets. These beets grow entirely below ground, which makes 
them difficult to dig. The part of a beet above ground does 
not contain much sugar. 




LEAF BEET; OR SWISS CHARD. 

Native of Southern Europe. — Biennial. ^ — This appears to 
be exactly the same plant as the 
beet root, except that in its 
case cultivation has developed 
the leaves instead of the root. 
The botanical characteristics, es- 
pecially those of the fruit seed 
and flowers, are precisely alike 
in both plants. The root is 
branched and not very fleshy, 
while the leaves are large and 
numerous, with the stalk and 
midrib fleshy and very large. 
The plants vary in color from 
deep red to nearly white. The 
fleshy leaf stalks are cooked and 
served like asparagus. 

Culture. The plants are grown 
Fig. 51. Swiss chard. in the same manner as the com- 

mon table beets. Among the best varieties is one known as the 
Silvery Swiss chard. 



BRUSSELS SPROUTS. [Brassica olemcea). 

Native of Europe. — Biennial. — This is one of themany va- 
riations which the cabbage has taken on under cultivation. In 
this case, where the head of the cabbage is ordinarily found, 
there are loose green leaves and seldom a head. The stem is 
generally two feet or more high, with leaves, and at the base 



BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND CABBAGE. 



113 



of each leaf is a small cabbage, which seldom attains a diam- 
eter of ov^ertwo inches. These 
little cabbages are the parts 
eaten; they are much more 
delicate than the commoncab- 
bag-e and hig-hly esteemed by 
many. The plant requires the 
same treatment as cabbage, 
except the plants can be grown 
nearet" together. While eas- 
ily grown, it is doubtful 
about its becoming a popular 
vegetable, since in most of our 
markets very little attention 
is paid to quality, and the 
common cabbage will proba- 
bly continue to take the place 

of this vegetable on most tables. The variety most esteemed 

is known as Dwarf Brussels Sprouts. 




Fig. 52. Brussels Sprouts. 



CABBAGE. {Brasska oleracea. ) 

Native of Europe and Western Asia. — Biennial. — It grows 
naturally to the height of three or four feet and scarcely re- 
sembles any of our cultivated kinds. The part eaten is termed 
the head and is simply a cluster of leaves enwrapping the top 
of the stem. It attains the height of three or four feet, 
w^hen it goes to seed. The flowers are generally yellow in col- 
or and conspicuous, though not large. There are three great 
groups of cabbages distinguished respectively by their (1) red 
leaves, (2) smooth leaves and (3) wrinkled leaves. Red cab- 
bages are chiefly esteemed for pickling. The varieties with 
smooth, light green leaves (common cabbage) are commonly 
cultivated, while the Savoy cabbage, which has wrinkled leaves 
and is of the best quality, is little grown, as it does not pro- 
duce so abundantly as the common kinds. The original spe- 
cies from which the cabbage has sprung is also the parent of 
the cauliflower, kale and brussels sprouts. The seed of the 
cabbage is dark brown in color, smooth and round. 

Soil. The best soil for cabbage is a rich alluvial, or prai- 
rie loam, moist, yet well drained and in fine condition. While 



114 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

some varieties will mature on poor soil, they all require the 
highest cultivation for the best development. This is especially 
true of early cabbage, which needs much richer soil than the 
late crop. It is a good plan to occasionally change the land 
used for cabbage: in some eastern sections it is necessary to 
do this each year on account of the prevalence of the disease 
called club-root. 

Manure. The cabbage is a gross feeder and needs lots of 
rich manure. Most of our best growers apply manure broad- 
cast, but when there is a necessity of economizing with the 
manure, it may be applied to better advantage in the hill.jjro- 




Fig. 53. Cross section of cabbage head showing arrangement of stem 
and leaves. 

viding the land is in good condition. In growing eariy cab- 
bage, it is an excellent plan to apply a handful or so of dry 
hen manure around the hills w^hen the plants are half grown. 
This should not be put close to the plants but scattered over a 
radius of a foot or more from the plants and then be cultiva'- 
ted into the soil. 

Early Cabbage. The methods of cultivation adapted to the 
growing of early cabbage are quite different from those fol- 
lowed in raising late cabbage, and the subject of cultivation 
naturally groups itself under these heads. The soil preferred 



CABBAGE. 115 

for early cabbage is a lig-ht.rich sandy loam. well drained and 
sloping- to the south, providing it is not too liable to injury 
from drouth. In milder sections of the country, it is cus- 
tomary to sow the seed for early cabbage in September and 
winter the plants over in cold frames. This method is im- 
practicable in most Northern states, and the best plan to fol- 
low in such sections is that of sowing the seed in greenhouses 
or hotbeds from the middle to the last of February. As the 
plants grow, they are transplanted so as not to be crowded. 
If they are kept growing freely, they will be large enough to 
transplant to the open ground by the first of April. 

Hardening off the Plants. It is very important to have the 
plants accustomed to cold weather when they are transplanted 
to the open ground, or they may be killed by a frost that 
otherwise would do them no harm. When cabbage plants are 
properly hardened. they take on a dull blue color that at once 
indicates their condition to one acquainted with their peculiar- 
ities. In fact, cabbage plants that are growing rapidly and 
are consequently very soft, maybe killed by a frost that 
w^ould not injure so tender a plant as the tomato, providing 
the latter has been properly hardened off. This hardening off 
of the plants is accomplished by gradually subjecting them to a 
lower temperature than that in which they grow freely or by 
drying them a little, and, finally, thus nearly checking their 
growth. The result is a sort of ripening up of the tissues of 
the plants, and, in consequence, they will stand great hardship. 

Setting the Plants. Cabbage plants will grow at a low tem- 
perature, and it is a great advantage to plant them out early 
in the spring, although the weather may be darnp and cold. At 
this season of the year, they may not show any great increase 
in leaf surface, but they form roots rapidly, and these are a 
great help in providing a vigorous growth later in the season. 
As a rule, early cabbage should be set out as soon as frost is 
out in the spring and the ground nicely settled. It is import- 
ant to set the plants deep in the ground at this season, and since 
the stem is the part most liable to injury from hard frosts, it 
should be set deep enough to bring the base of the leaves be- 
low the ground. This is very important and frequently makes 
the difference between success and failure in growing the 
crop. If severe weather is threatened after the plants are set 



116 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

out, it is a g-ood plan to draw a hoe-ful of earth over each, 
plant, for if frozen when they are covered with earth they will 
not be injured, and they can remain buried in the ground several 
days in cold weather without serious injury. However, 
the earth should be removed as soon as good weather is as- 
sured. The distance between the plants will depend somewhat 
on the varieties to be cultivated; under ordinary conditions 
large, early kinds should be set out two feet apart in rows three 
feet apart. This arrangement permits of horse cultivation 
both ways when the plants are young and one way when they 
are full grown. 

Cultivation should commence as soon as the plants can be 
clearly seen and be continued after each rain, at least once a 
week, until the crop is grown. For this purpose, a fine-tooth 
horse cultivator is the most desirable implement, and if the 
work is carefully done there will be very little need of hand 
hoeing. It is a good plan to draw the earth slightly toward 
the plants when they are about half grown. 

Harvesting the Crop. — Treated in this way, under ordinary 
conditions, they will be nicely "headed up" by the first of 
July and ready for marketing. The season of marketing, 
however, will depend largely on the kinds grown. If the land 
is at once plowed when the crop is harvested, it can be used 
for growing some late crop, as late beans, spinach or celery. 
By care in sowing and the selection of varieties, early cab- 
bage may be continued till Late cabbage is in the market. 

Retarding the heading of cabbages may be accomplished 
by starting the roots on one side of the head or by slightly 
pulling the plant so as to break some of the roots. This is 
very important some seasons, as it is not uncommon to find 
the market overstocked with this vegetable just as the crop is 
full grown, and if the plants are allowed to remain growing 
when once a hard head is formed they are very sure to burst 
and be spoiled. By starting the roots a little, the growth is 
checked and heads may be kept from spoiling for a week or 
more. 

Late cabbage is a term generally given to cabbage grown 
from seed sown in the open ground. It may be ready for use 
in September or in the late autumn and be kept all winter. 

Soil. Any land that will produce a good crop of corn is 



CABBAGE. 117 

in good condition for late cabbage, but the richer the land the 
better the chances of success. Less manure is required for 
late than for early cabbage. Late cabbage is generally raised 
by sowing the seed in the hills, or by sowing it in a seed bed 
and setting the plants in the field when of sufficient size. Each 
of these methods has its advantages and will be referred 
to separately further on. 

Sowing Cabbage Seed. Late cabbage is raised by sowing 
the seed in a seedbed, in rows twelve inches apart, in the 
spring, and when the plants are large enough transplanting 
to the field where they are to be grown. This is the common 
way of growing cabbage. Its advantages are that the plants 
may be set out on land that has grown some early crop, as 
peas, or on sod land after cutting the hay. It also ensures 
having the plants all together in a small space, where they can 
be easily cultivated and guarded when they are young and 
most liable to serious injury from cut worms, flea beetles and 
other insects and from dry weather. It has the disadvantage 
of requiring the plants to be moved during the dry weather of 
early summer, when they are very liable to fail from lack of 
water in the soil. Sowing the seed of cabbas'e in the field 
where the plants are to mature and then thinning out to one 
plant to a hill, has the advantage of not requiring trans- 
planting of the crop during dry weather, and as the plants are 
not set back by transplanting they mature in a shorter time 
than transplanted plants. This makes it practicable to sow 
the seed later than when the plants are to be removed and is 
sometimes an advantage. It has the disadvantage, however, 
of having the plants scattered over a large area when small 
and liable to serious insect enemies, and makes it more diffi- 
cult to cultivate them than when in a seed bed. The thinnings 
from the land where seed is sown in the hill may be set else- 
where. 

Raising Cabbage by Transplanting. If the plants are to be 
raised in a seedbed and then transplanted to the open ground, 
the seed of such varieties as Late Flat Dutch should be sown 
about the 10th of May; but if Fotler's Improved Brunswick or 
other second early kind is to be grown, the seed should not be 
sown until at least ten days later: and such large, early head- 
ing varieties as Early Summer may be successfully raised 



lis VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

when seed is sown as late as the first of June. The plants will 
be ready to set out by the last of June, when they should be 
carefully transplanted. The land should be thoroughly pul- 
verized and marked out three feet apart each way, unless it is 
to be manured in the hills, when it should be furrowed out one 
way and marked the other way. The pla,nts should be set at 
the intersections of the marks, but it is not a good plan to set 
them on top of the manure, but rather to put them on the side of 
it. This is especially important if the manure is not well 
rotted. The cultivation and after treatment are the same as 
for early cabbage. 

Cabbage from Seed Sown in the Hill. If the seed is to be sown 
in the hills, the land should be treated as recommended when 
the plants are to be transplanted. It is generally necessary 
for success to have the soil moist when the seed is sown. After 
the land is marked out, seven or eight seeds are sown at each 
intersections covered with about half an inch of soil and 
pressed down with the sole of the foot. The plants generally 
come up inside of a week and should be hand-hoed at once, 
and when large enough cultivated with a horse. When big- 
enough to stand .n^lone, take out all but one plant from each 
hill and treat as directed for those thathavebeen transplanted. 

Harvesting Late Cabbage may be done by selling directly 
from the field or by storing for marketing during the winter. 
If the heads are nearly ready to burst, they cannot be kept 
long and should be disposed of at once. There is generally a 
good demand in the late autumn for this vegetable for general 
marketing and also by the pickling factories for making 
sauer kraut. Cabbages will stand ten degrees or more of 
frost, but severe freezing is very injurious; they are seldom 
injured by frost unless the stump is frozen solid. If there is 
danger of severe freezing before the crop can be marketed or 
stored, it is a good plan to pull the plants and put them into 
piles, with the stumps inside, and cover the whole with straw 
litter. Piled and covered in this way, they may be left in the 
field until sevei'e freezing weather and will generally be safe 
in such a condition in this section until the first of Decem- 
ber. At harvesting there may be some heads quite too loose 
for marketing, and such cabbage will improve very much if 
stored as recommended for seed cabbage. 



CABBAGE. 



119 



Storing Cabbage. In order to have cabbage keep well far 
into the winter, they must not be headed very solid when 
gathei'ed but should be a trifle soft, but there is quite a differ- 
ence in the keeping qualities of varieties. If late varieties are 
sown too early, they will not keep well, and if early varieties 
are sown late so as to be in good keeping condition when har- 
vested they often keep well. In order to store cabbages suc- 
cessfully, they must be kept cold and moist but never allowed 
to get warm or wet. Providing the cabbage is in good condi- 
tion for storing, it will generally keep until spring if the heads 




Fi^. 54. Cabbage pitted for winter storing. 

are set together, roots up, in a ti'ench and covered with from 
six inches to a foot of soil and mulch enough to prevent hard 
freezing. If they are frozen while buried and thawed out in 
the ground, they are seldom seriously injured. In this sec- 
tion, however, a better plan is to keep them in a cold, damp 
cellar, stored in bins about four feet wide, so as to allow a 
a circulation of air through them. For commercial purposes, 
it is a good plan to build store houses, half in and half out 
of the ground; in a small way. they may be kept by burying 
the heads in sand in a cellar, or a small stock of cabbage 
for home use, may be heeled in by the roots in the cellar — 
but it should be borne in mind that decaying cabbage is dan- 
gerous material to have under a dwelling house, and it should 
not be permitted under any circumstances. In storing cab- 
bage, the loose outside leaves should be removed and the 
stumps always left on, except when they are to be stored 
in bins. 

Cabbage Seed is a somewhat difficult crop to raise in this 
section, the trouble being in keeping the plants over winter. 
However, it may be done if care is used. For this purpose, 



120 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

heads should not be permitted to get very hard; they should 




Fig. 55. Seed cabbages pitted for winter. 

be gathered before the stumps have been frozen, set to- 
gether heads up in a trench and covered with about a foot of 

soil and mulching enough 
to prevent severe freezing. 
Cabbage seed may be 
raised from the stumps af- 
ter the heads are cut off, 
and this is a vei^y simple 
matter, as the stumps can 
be buried like turnips or 
even kept in bins, provid- 
ing they are covered with 
earth and kept cold; but 
such seed is not desirable, 
as the evidence seems to 
show that there is a ten- 
dency to increase the length 
of the stump at the expense 
of the head under such 
treatment. It is generally 
agreed among our best seed 
gi'owers that cabbage seed 
should be saved from the 
terminal buds of the stem, 
which are in the cabbage 
head. Providing the seed 
cabbage are successfully 




Fig. 56. Part of cabbage seed stalk 
showing seed pods. (After Landreth. ) 



wintered over, they should be planted ab3ut the first of May 



CABBAGE. 



121 



in deep furrows about three feet apart, in rows four feet apart. 

Sometimes the seed stalkcannot burst throug-h the head leaves, 

and it is a good plan 
in such cases to cut 
throug-h the outside 
leaves on the top of the 
head a little to allow it 
to gTOw throug-h. The 
seed is g-athered branch 
by branch as the pods 
begin to turn yellow, 
and it generally takes 
several cuttings to har- 
vest the seed pods. 
■ tig-ht floors and then 




Figure 57. Early Winningstadt cabbage. 



These ai-e dried in buildings havin<^ 
threshed out. 

Varieties. For very early use the Early Jersey Wakefield is 
perhaps the most popular variety, but the head is quite small. For 
second early the Early Summer is perhaps the best and is 
generally more profitable than other early kinds, since the 
head is of good size. The Early Winningstadt is a very desir- 
able variety, forming very solid heads. It is the most reli- 
able of all varieties for early or late use in unfavorable situ- 
ations. Fotler's Improved Brunswick is a valuable variety 
for second early or as a winter variety, and it is the earliest 
of the large heading kinds. 

Flat Dutch and Stone Mason are desirable winter sorts and 
are good keepers. The best red cabbage is perhaps the Mammoth 
Red Rock. The Savoys are 
of better quality than the or- 
dinary drumheads but do not 
produce so heavily. They 
are desirable for home use. 
The best of this class is the 
American Drumhead Savoy. 

Insects. The insects inju- 
rious to the cabbage are the 
flea beetle, cabbage worms, cut Fig. 58.-Premium Flat Dutch Cabbage, 
worms and lice, for treatment of which see chapter on insects. 
There are very few diseases that seriously injure 




122 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

the cabbage. The most common is club-root, also called club- 
foot. The life history of this disease is not known. It at- 
tacks the roots of cabbag-e, cauliflower, turnips and other 
plants of the same family, causing them to form large irregu- 
lar swellings. The plant is checked in growth and often dies 
from the effects of the disease. This is not yet a common 
disease in this section, but in some of the Eastern and Middle 
states it is very common. The best way of avoiding it is to 
not use the same land for cabbage or similar crop without at 
least three years intervening, during which time it is prefer- 
able to have the land in grass or clover. 

Sauer Kraut. The following recipe is a very excellent 
one: Slice cabbage fine on a slaw-cutter: line the bottom and 
sides of an oaken barrel or keg with cabbage leaves, put in 
a layer of the sliced cabbage about six inches in depth, sprinkle 
lightly with salt, and pound with a wooden beetle until the 
cabbage is a compact mass; add another layer of cabbage, 
etc., repeating the operation, jDounding well each layer until 
the barrel is full to within six inches of the top; cover with 
leaves, then a cloth, next a board cut to fit loosely on the in- 
side of barrel, kept well down with a heavy weight; If the 
brine has not raised within two days, add enough water with 
just salt enough to taste to cover the cabbage; examine every 
two days and add water as before, until brine rises and scum 
forms, then lift off the cloth carefully so the scum may adhere, 
wash well in several cold waters, wring dry and replace, re- 
peating this operation as the scum arises, at first every other 
day, and then once a week, until the acetous fermentation 
ceases, which will take three to six weeks. Up to this time 
keep warm in the kitchen, then remove to a dry, good cellar 
unless made early in 'the fall, when it may be at once set in 
the pantry or cellar. One pint of salt to a full barrel of cab- 
bage is a good proportion; some also sprinkle in whole black 
pepper. Or, to keep until summer: In April squeeze out of 
brine and pack tightly with the hands in a stone jar, with 
the bottom lightly sprinkled with salt; make brine enough to 
well cover the kraut in the proportion of a tablespoon of salt 
to a quart of water; boil, skim, cool and pour over; cover 
with cloth, then a plate, weight and another cloth tied closely 
down; keep in a cool place, and it will be good in June. 



CARROT. 



12a 



Neither pound nor salt the cabbage too much, watch closely, 
and keep clear from scum for good sauer kraut. — Buckeye Cook 
Book. 

CARROT. {Daucus carota. ) 
Native of Europe. — Biennial. — In the wild state this I'ootis 
valueless, being slender and woody, and the plant is a bad 
weed. Under cultivation it exhibits the widest difference in. 
shape, size and color. Some kinds have roots that are broad- 
er than long and extend not over two or three inches in the 
ground, while others attain a length of two feet, and still oth- 
ers may be found havings 
the various intermediate 
forms between these ex- 
tremes. There are also 
varieties having red, 
white and yellow flesh. 
The leaves are very much 
divided and deeply cut. 
The flowei's are white 
and crowded together in. 
compound umbels on 
stalks two to five feet, 
high. The roots of the 
cultivated kind will 
stand considerable frost 
but not severe freezing. 
Two seeds are produced 
by each flower; they are 
flat on one side and con- 
vex on the other, and 
are partly covered by 
minute bristles. When sold, the bristles have generally been, 
removed. Carj-ots are used to some extent as a table vege- 
table, but they are especially valuable as a food for horses 
and other stock. 

Cultivation. The carrot is of the easiest culture. It re- 
quires a fine, yellow, rich, upland soil. On moist soils, the 
roots are apt to branch and somewhat liable to disease. The 
seedlings are quite delicata when they first come up. and every 
precaution should be taken to have the land clean, so that the 




Fig. 59. Carrot plant in flower. 



124 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

small seedling-s will not be overrun with weeds; the sur- 
face soil should be kept loose and mellow throughout the sea- 
son. It is a good plan to sow a few radish seeds with the car- 
rot seed, so that cultivation may be commenced early, as the- 
latter start slowlj'. The seed of the small kinds should be 
sown very early in the spring and will produce roots big 
enough for table use by early summer; but for the main crop 
the seed should be sown about the middle of May in rows four- 
teen inches apart. A fair crop may be expected, even if the 
seed is not sown until the middle of June, although the dry 
weather which generally prevails at that time of the 
year is liable to prevent or retard the germination of the seed 
or to burn u]) the seedlings just as they are pushing out of the 
ground. The crop is sometimes sown in rows two feet apart 
and cultivated with a horse implement. If the seed is good, 
two pounds per acre, or about ten seeds to the foot of row, is 
plenty to sow. Very thick seeding is not desirable, as the 
cost of thinning in such a case is considerable. It is best for 
the exjDerienced grower to have all the conditions right and 
then sow the seed so that little, if any, weeding will be neces- 
sary. The beginner will be very likely find it safest to sow a 
large amount of seed, perhaps three pounds per acre, and thin 
out so that the plants will stand three inches apart in the row. 
The richer the soil, the more room the roots require in the row; 
if small roots are wanted, they may be left an inch apart 
in the row. 

Gathering. One of the greatest outlays in raising carrots 
is in gathering and topping the crop. This work may be done 
by hand, but hand labor is very costly. Some growers go 
■over the rows and cut the tops off with a sharp hand hoe, but 
generally they are topped by hand after being plowed out. If 
the tops of the roots are cut off* a little, no harm is done, as it 
does not increase the liability to rot as is the case with beets. 
The roots are, perhaps, dug most easily by plowing close to 
each row and then pulling the roots out by hand. For this 
purpose a subsoil plow is best, but any good plow will answer 
the purpose fairly well. If some short rooted variety is grown 
and the land is mellow, the plow may often be run so as to turn 
the roots out on top of the furrow slice, which is a most con- 
v^enient way of gathering them. 



CARROT. 125 



Kie>N^ 


"■ " n 


B^^^^^^£i^%k^^^S 


^1|^^; 




^p^ 



Fig. 60.— Harvesting long carrots and par.snips by plowing the earth away 
on one side, and then puUing the roots by hand. 

Storing. Carrots are easily kept over winter in cellars, 
providing they are in a tamperature near the freezing point 
and are not too rijje when dug. If the seed has been planted 
too early, the roots will ripen up early in the fall and will 
cease to grow, and many of the leaves will turn yellow. Such 
roots do not keep well, but are liable to sprout badly long be- 
fore spring, even if kept cold. To have the roots keep best, 
they should be growing rapidly when dug. In dry cellars, it 
may be necessary to cover with loam or sand to prevent those 
on top of the bin or pile from wilting. If they are to be fed 
early in the winter, they may be piled in the barn and covered 
with chaff and straw sufficient to keep out^he frost. 

Carrot seed is raised by planting out the roots in the springy 
about two feet apart, in rows four feet apart. The seed heads 
ripen irregularly and are gathered as they ripen and threshed 
when dry. The seed is generally rubbed against a sieve having a 
fine mesh to take the bristles off, otherwise it would be a 
difficult matter to sow it in a machine. 

Forcing carrots is carried on to a limited extent, for which 
purpose they may be sown between rows of radishes in the 
hotbed or greenhouse. 

Varieties. For very early table use the Short Scarlet is best. 
For general use in summer and for winter use, perhaps there 
is no better variety than the Danvers. The Guerande Half 



126 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



Xiong-, or Oxheart, is a variety that is very thick and 
«hort and yields nearly as much as the Danvers. It has the 
advantage, moreover, of being easily pulled by hand without 
any digging. The White Belgian is a large cropper, but 




Fig. 61.— Varieties of Carrots. 1.— White Belgian. 2.— Long Orange. 3.— 
Orange Danvers. 4.— Ox-Heart. .5.— Pointed-Rooted. 6.— Blunt-Rooted 
Horn. 7.— Extra Early Forcing. {After Landreth..) 

only of value as food for stock. Thirty tons of carrots are 

sometimes raised on one acre, but in ordinary practice seldom 

more than half that amount are raised. 

CAULIFLOWER. [Brassica oleracea.) 

Native of Europe. — Biennial.— Cauliflower is a form of 

-cabbage in which the inflorescence becomes fleshy and dis- 



CAULIFLOWER. 



127 




5e^^"_ 

Fig. 62.— SnoAvball cauliflower. 



torted. It is. 
however, con- 
sidered much 
more delicate 
than cabbage 
and brings a 
higher price. 
It is grown in 
much the same 
manner as cab- 
b a g e : the 
plants, howev- 
er, are not so 
hardy in resist- 
ing cold weath- 
er as cabbage, 
are more sensi- 
tive to adverse 
conditions and 



should have more man- 
ureinthe soil. As soon 
as the head commences 
to form, the outside 
leaves of the plant shou Id 
be drawn together over 
the head so as to keep 
the sunlight away from 
it. Treated in this way, 
the heads will be nearly 
snow white: if not pro- 
tected, they become 
brown in color and are 
not as salable. The 
crop ripens somewhat 
irregularly. When dan- 
ger of hardfrost is appa- 
rent, the immature heads 

«5hnnlfl Ytt^ r^-n^^a^i wifVi Fig. 63.— Cauliflower plant with leaves tied to- 
biiuum ue puiieu wim gether to keep the sunUght off the head. 
roots and leaves and This should be done as soon as the head 
■1 1 i. ^ u. • can be seen, and the leaves should remain 

oe planted out in • 3 a tied until the head is cut out. 




128 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

cold cellar or cold frame, where many of them will form good 
salable heads. The insect enemies are the same as those of 
the cabbage. 

Varieties. There are many varieties, but, perhaps, the most 
desirable are the Snowball and the Early Dwarf Erfurt. 

CELERY. ( Ainum graveolens. ) 

Native of Europe. — Biennial. — The plants are grown for 
the fleshy leaf stalks, which are very tender when blanched; 
one form is also grown for the large fleshy roots. The whole 
plant has a pleasant aromatic flavor. The seed-stalks are 
branching and grow from two to three feet high, and have very 
small yellowish or greenish flowers in umbels. The seed is 
small, triangular and flve-ribbed, having the characteristic 
aromatic flavor of the plant very pronounced. 

Celery is a crop that is very liable to suffer from the want 
of rich nitrogenous manures and from a superabundance of 
or a lack of moisture in the soil. On this account it should 
be grown on retentive, yet well drained, rich land. Well 
drained bog land with the water about eighteen inches from 
the surface is often excellent for this purpose. 

Early Celery. The seed for early celery is generally sown 
the latter part of February or early in March in boxes in a 
greenhouse. As soon as the plants are of sufficient size to 
handle, they are pricked out into other boxes or into hotbeds, 
where they remain until large enough for planting out, which 
is sometime in May. The tops of the plants should be sheared 
off once before they are pricked out and again before they are 
planted to the open ground, as this makes them stocky and 
helps them to recover from transplanting. If the leaves are 
all left on the plants when they are set out, they generally dry 
up and in so doing take away much moisture from the root. 
The plants should be hardened off before being set out. Early 
celery should be bleached by being covered with boards or with 
boards and straw, since the ordinary way of bleaching it by 
banking with earth is liable to bring on disease in warm 
weather. 

Late Celery. The greatest demand for celery is during the 
autumn and winter months, and very little is marketed during 
the summer. The seed for autumn and winter celery is gener- 



CELERY. 



129 



ally sown in April in the open ground, although some of our 
best growers sow the seed in hotbeds or cold frames early in 
April, before the land outdoors can be worked at all. If the 




Fig. 64.— Celery plants. Those on left have been transplanted and show in 
consequence an unproved root system for planting out. Those on right 
were only grown in seed bed without transplanting and have not as good 
roots for planting out. The plants with tops trimmed are ready for 
planting out. 



is sown outside, a piece of fine rich land is generally 
selected. The seed is sown in drills about nine inches apart 
and one-quarter inch deep, and the soil is well firmed over it 
after covering-. Some g-rowers do not cover celery seed at all, 



130 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



except by rollino- or patting it down with the back of a spade. 
If there is danger of the seed drying out, some growers shade 
the bed with cotton cloth or with a lath screen raised about 
one foot from the ground and so made as to keep off about 
one-half the sunlight. Another plan is to cover the bed with 
burlap after sowing the seed and water the seed through it; 
in this latter case, however, it is very important to watch 
carefully and remove the cloth covering as soon as the plants 
appear. The seed germinates slowly. The seedlings are quite 

weak and should re- 
ceive almost constant 
cultivation. The top 
should be sheared off 
once or twice, as re- 
commended for early 
celery, to make the 
plants stocky: they 
should also be thinned 
out so that there will 
rty or tifty plants to the foot of 
sufficiently large, they . should be 
tlie field where they are to grow. 
this way. the plants will be strong 
if left to crowd one another, they 
will be wea;k and poor. Some suc- 
ers prefer to transplant once to 
before setting in the field where the 
mature. This makes the final trans- 
White most certain by increasing the ^ fi- 




65.- 



be not ov 

row. When 

moved to 

Treated in 

and stocky: 

p r o b a b 1 y 

cessful grow 

narrow rows 

crop is to 

p 1 a n t i n gpig 

brous roots ^X^^^ celery, ^ut is not generally necessary, ;al- 

though a good plan under unfavorable conditions. ' 

Planting. Having good plants, the next thing is to set them 
so as to get a good crop. It is quite a common practice in 
some sections to grow celery as a second crop after early peas, 
lettuce, cabbage or beets. In such a case the plants, perhaps, 
had better not be set out until the first crop has been gathered: 
but where only one crop is to be grown the plants may be set 
as soon as big enough, provided the land is ready. This will 
generally be the latter part of June or the first of J uly and for 
latest use the latter part of July. The land should be 



CELERY. 131 

thoroughly plowed, harrowed and smoothed off. Furrows 
should then be made where the plants are to go, about six 
inches deep, in which about three inches of fine, well-rotted 
manure or compost should be placed. This manure should 
be thoroughly mixed with the soil, and the furrow nearly 
filled. For mixing the manure and soil, perhaps there is no 
better implement than a one horse cultivator with the teeth 
set close together. If the land is unusually rich in plant food, 
there is no need of going to this trouble, but the plants may 
be set right after the marker. In any case, the plants should 
be four or five feet apart for the common kinds that have to 
be bleached by "banking up with earth," but the self-bleach- 
ing kinds can be managed in rows three feet apart. 

Before the plants are dug from the seed bed, it should be 
thoroughly soaked with water. The plants should have the 
tops and roots partly cut off and the roots dipped in water. 
The place where they are to be planted should be moist, and 
every precaution taken to prevent the plants drying out wljen 
they are being moved. Special attention should be given to 
planting on freshly plowed land and to firming the soil around 
the roots. The plants should be set six inches apart, after 
stretching a line for marking out to get the rows straight. If 
the land is dry, it must be watered bsfore it is safe to set out 
celery plants, and if the weather is dry the plants must also 
be shaded from the sun. This shade may be given by cover- 
ing the plants with finely cut grass. The ground should be kept 
clean and mellow between the plants with a horse cultivator 
throughout the season. 

If, while the crop is growing, it is thought the plants re- 
quire more food, it maj" be supplied by plowing a shallow 
furrow away from them on one side and putting in fine well- 
rotted stable manure, hen manure or compost and covering it 
with soil. This treatment supplies the food directly to the 
roots and is very effective. Nitrate of soda or other nitro- 
genous fertilizer may also be used to advantage in this way. 

Celery and Onions Together. In some sections celery is grown 
as a second ci'op with onions. In this case every fourth ov~ 
fifth ro.w is left vacant when the onion seed is sown, and th;s 
space is set out to late celery plants at the proper time. If 
the onion seed is sown by the 20th of April, almost any of the 



132 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



well known commercial sorts like Yellow Danvers or Red 
Wethersfield will be ripe by the middle of Aug-ust, when they 
can be harvested; and then the celery can occupy all the land 
during- the cool weather of autumn, when it makes its most 
rapid growth. 

Handling. As celery grows naturally, it spreads on the 
surface of the ground, like the carrot. The term handling re- 
fers to the process by which the leaf stalks of each plant are 
drawn together and some earth pressed firmly around them by 
the hands, to hold them in an uprig-ht position. After this is 
done, more earth is drawn towards the plants with a hoe, until 
there is enough to prevent their spreading- open. All celery 
plants should have this upright form before being stored, and 
it is all the bleaching treatment necessary for the self-blanch- 
ing- kinds. The land should be thoroughly cultivated and a 
furrow turned towards the plants on each side of the row before 
the handling- process is begun, so that there may be plenty of 
loose earth to work with. 

Bleaching with Earth, or "Banking." If the celery is intended 
for marketing previous to the first of December, it should be 



-^H<ii' 




Fig. 66.— Celery banked up for bleaching. 
banked up or otherwise bleached in the field. Banking up is 
done immediately after "handling." It consists in plowing 
earth against the celery to begin with and then finishing it off 
with a shovel or wide hoe until the earth is banked up to the 
full height of the celery. This had better be done in several 
operations as the plants grow and need it. 

Bleaching with Boards. Celery that is to be marketed early 
should be bleached with boards, because if "banked" with 



CELERY. 



133 



earth it is more liable to become diseased. Boards ten inch- 
es wide are the best, but narrower boards may be used nearly 
as well, providing- the earth is first drawn towards the plants 
for them to rest on. The plants are generally handled before 
the boards are put on, but this is not absolutely necessary, 
although desirable. A board should be put upon each side of 
the row quite close to the plants and be held in place with a 
peg-. If for any reason there are vacancies in the row or the 
plants are not close enough to exclude light from the stalks 
when the boards are put up, the vacancies may be fille:! with 
hay or straw. For late autumn use, it is probably best to 
bleach the plants with earth, as it also protects from frost 
and is much cheaper than bleaching with boards when the 
first cost of the boards and the handling of them is consid- 
ered. In fact, almost all growers use earth to bleach their 
late celery. 

Planting in Beds. Some growers prefer to plant the celery 
in beds four feet wide and to have the plants set ten inches 




Fig. 67.— Celery grown in beds and earthed up to bleach. 

apart each way in the beds; in which case a four foot path is 
left between the beds for convenience in cultivation and weed- 
ing. In this way a very large amount of celery can be grown 
on a very small piece of land. By putting boards up on both 
sides of the paths, the plants will take on the upright form, so 
that handling will be unnecessary. For late use the plants 



134 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

may be taken directly from the bed to the cellar without bank- 
ing, but it will generally be found a good plan late in the fall 
to pack the spaces between the plants with hay or fill them 
with earth' from the paths, as they will then be protected from 
frosts. If the celery is to be blanched in the bed, this, of 
course, would be necessary. To grow plants so close together 
successfully requires the utmost care in the preparation of 
the land. It should be covered with fine rich manure, prefer- 
ably in the spring; the plants will also require to be frequent- 
ly and heavily watered, since the land will be full of roots. 

Digging Celery. Celery will stand many light frosts, but 
hard freezing is liable to injure it, and it should never be 
handled when frozen. It is seldom safe to allow it to remain 
unprotected in the ground in this section after the middle of 
October, but by covering the plants with straw or other 
material they may often be safely left in the field until the 
middle of November. The plants are generally lifted with a 
spade after a furrow has been plowed away from the row 
on one side. Most of the soil should be shaken ofT the roots 
and the old outside leaves removed before storing. In this 
section, to keep well, celery should be stored in a cold, moist 
csUar or frost-proof shed. If it does not whiten quickly 
enough, the plants may be watered and kept warm and thus 
started into growth, which results in forming the tender white 
ehoots very quickly. 

Storing Celery. For home use a good way to keep celery is 
to pack the plants closely together, upright, in boxes twelve to 
eighteen inches wide, with the bottom covered with moist sand, 
a little of which should be worked in among the roots. There 
is no need of having sand between the plants. These boxes, 
when packed, should be kept in a cold, damp cellar. In stor- 
ing tor market iise, where there is plenty of room, the plants 
are sometimes "heeled in" in sand on the floor; the cheapest 
practicable way, however, is to pack them between boards 
about nine inches apart. To do this, place the first board on 
one side of the cellar or shed nine inches from the wall, with 
its upper edge at a height from the floor a little less than the 
length of the celery. The boards may be supported by stakes 
and should not rest on the ground. In this narrow division 
the celery should be packed upright, as described for packing 



CELERY. 135 

in boxes. As soon as the first tier is filled, erect another 
board division at nine inches from the first, and so on, until 
the whole surface is covered. No soil or sand is packed 
among- the stalks of celery, but three or four inches of either 
is placed on the floor, into which the roots are bedded. The 
temperature of the celery should be kept very low, and even a 
little frost in the cellar will not hurt it. If dry, it must be 
watered, but water must not be put upon the leaves, as it may 
bring- on rot. If celery is wanted for immediate use, it may 
be stored in barrels or troughs containing- an inch or two of 
water. This is also a very g-ood way of hastening- the bleach- 
ing process. 

The green stalks of celery do not become white, and the 
term "bleaching" is a misnomer. The '"bleaching" of celery 
is simply the result of the plant making growth in the dark, 
and bleached celery will keep but a short time and should be 
used as soon as whitened. Celery for use in the latter part of 
winter should be quite green in color when put into winter 
storage; for early winter use it should be partly bleached when 
stored. For winter use, celery should be left out as late as is 
safe in the fall, so that the cellar or pit where it is to be stored 
may be thoroughly cooled off before it is put in. 

The time required for bleaching celery in the field will depend 
upon whether it is growing rapidly or not. During the first 
of September, when celery is making a rapid growth, it will 
probably be fit to use in three weeks from the time it is banked 
up; while later on, when the weather is cool and the celery is 
growing slowly, four weeks will be found necessary. The 
same conditions afl'ect the bleaching process after storing. In 
an ordinary frost proof cellar, it may easily be bleached in 
three weeks by watering it and then raising the temperature to 
fifty degrees. 

Celery seed is raised by wintering the roots and planting 
them out in the spring, in much the same way that seed of the 
carrot and other biennial plants is grown. 

Diseases. There are two diseases that sometimes seriously 
injure celery, but the are not commonly very troublesome. 
As a rule, celery growers do not attempt to fight them, but 
select the healthiest varieties and trust to good cultivation to 



136 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



enable the plants to resist them. The diseases referred to are 
the following: 

Celerv Blight, Rust, or Sun-Scald {Cercospora apii \_Fries.'\ ) The 
first indication of this disease is the appearance of yellowish 
spots on the leaves. These finally run together and turn the 
entire leaves yellow and then brown. 

Treatment. Secure as healthful conditions as possible. 
Where the Dlants are somewhat shaded, they are less liable 
to the disease than if in the full sunlight. This disease is 
especially bad in very dry locations. It is reported that the 
Bordeaux mixture and other standard fungicides will entirely 
prevent it. 

Leaf Blight ( Septoria PetroseUni var. apii. ) All parts of the 
celery plant except the roots are liable to the attacks of this 

fungous disease. Wa- 
tery spots ai)pear on 
the stems and leaves, 
which soon show small, 
black dots. This dis- 
ease may be spread by 
the seeds, which are 
likely to become infect- 
ed. 

Treatment. The 

first precaution is to 

plant clean seed. That 

which is spotted or 

speckled with the black 

spots of disease should 

be avoided. In addi- 

Fig. 68.— Turnip-rooted celery or celeriac. tion it would be a gOOd 

plan to spray the young plants with Bordeaux mixture on the 

first appearance of the disease. 

Varieties of Celery. The dwarf kinds are the best to grow; 
the red kinds are of the best quality but do not take well in 
the markets. For early marketing the White Plume is highly es- 
teemed and is, probably, the most profitable variety forgeneral 
marketing. Its stalks andleaves are white withoutgoingthrough 
the bleaching process but are not of as good flavor as when 
bleached. One of the best flavored as well as best keeping 




CORN. 137 

kinds is the Golden Dwai^f, or Golden Hearted Dwarf. Other 
good varieties are the Perfection Heartwell, Giant Pascal and 
the Boston Market. 

Celeriac, or turnip-rooted celery, is a form of celery cultivated 
for its roots, which are eaten either cooked or raw. The 
stalks are generally hollow and quite worthless. The plants 
are raised by the same method as that for celery but may be 
planted in rows not over twelve inches apart. The roots are 
generally kept by storing them in moist sand the same as 
carrots. 

Marketing. Celery is marketed when well bleached. In 
preparing it for market most of the roots are trimmed off, and 
the green and decaying leaves are removed. About a dozen 
roots are generally tied together for a bunch, although the 
size of the bunch varies somewhat in different markets. Celery 
can be easily shipped long distances when trimmed and packed 
in tight boxes. Much of the celery supplied to the markets in 
this section comes from Kalamazoo, Michigan, where it is 
raised on drained swamp land. 

CORN. [Zea mays. ) 

Native of America.— Annual. — The male flowers are in 
the tassel and the female flowers on the. cob. While cross- 
fertilization is not absolutely necessary for the production of 
seed, it is necessary for a good crop. The varieties of corn 
may be easily grouped under four classes: (1) Sweet corn, 
which includes varieties with soft and generally much wrinkled 
kernels, that are especially desirable for use in a green state 
on account of their being sweeter and more delicate in flavor 
than other kinds. (2) Flint corn, which includes field varie- 
ties having a very hard, smooth grain. (3) Dent corn, which 
includes field varieties rather softer in texture than the flint 
corn, each kernel having a depression in the end of it. (4) 
Pop corn, which has a kernel of flinty hardness and is used 
almost entirely for popping purposes. These classes will all 
cross together. But there are numerous varieties in each of 
the classes varying from one another in height of stalk, size 
and color of the ear and kernel, time of ripening and various 
minor particulars. The color of the grains may be white, 
yellow, red or purple, but white and yellow are most common. 



138 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

Corn is quickly improved by judicious selection, and new 
varieties are frequently originated in this way. 



Cultivation. For early use, the seed should be sown as soon, 
as the ground begins to get warm in the spring. Very early 
planting is not desirable for the main crop, since in cold, wet 
weather the seed is liable to rot in the ground, or the plants 
may be frozen on coming up. It may, however, be desirable to 
plant some of the earliest kinds as soon as the weather is 
warm, and, selecting the most favorable h)cation, run the risk 
of failure, as the profits are correspondingly large if the crop 
is very early, while the expense of planting is a small matter. 
The main crop of corn should be planted from the middle to 
the last of May. The land can hardly be too rich for corn, 
and it should be in a finely pulverized condition. The seed 
maybe planted in rows at about nine-inch intervals, with rows 
three to four feet apart, or in hills three to four feet apart 
each way, according to the growth of the plants and 
method of cultivation to be followed. It should be covered 
about two inches. If grown in hills, three or four plants should 
be left in a place, which means planting about six seeds to the 
hill. If planted in hills, they may be cultivated both ways, 
which is an advantage over planting in rows. In rows, how- 
ever, the plants develop rather better than in hills, and it is 
the method preferred by many good growers, though field corn 
is generally grown in hills. Corn should be cultivated shal- 
low and never deep enough to cut the roots. For table use, 
to have a long season of this vegetable in its best condition, 
planting of the very early and some good second early kind 
should be made at the same time; and then plantings of the 
second early kinds should be made once- in two weeks there- 
after up to about the twentieth of June, after which time it is 
very doubtful about its getting large enough for table use be- 
fore the autumn frosts set in. The very early kinds, however, 
may be planted in this section as late as the fourth of July, 
with good prospects of their becoming of marketable size; but 
the very early varieties are small in size and not as sweet and 
desirable as the larger midsummer kinds; a few varieties re- 
quire the whole season in which to obtain table size. If 
properly planted, sweet corn may be had in a young and 



CORN. 



139 



tender condition from the middle of July until the cold weather 
of autumn sets in. 

Marketing. There is a large demand for green corn in 
every ci£y and village. It is marketable as soon as the 
kernels are well formed and is generally sold in the husk, by 
-th^ dozen or the barrel. There are several canning factories in 
this section and many in other parts of the country that make 
n specialty of canning sweet corn. Grown for this purpose or 
for evaporating, it is a farm crop that may be made to pay 
very well in some locations. Extensive tracts of land are de- 
voted to raising it. Where the crop is marketed at canning 
factories, the fodder is left on the farm and is in admirable 
condition for feeding. The ears are best for table use when 
first picked, but quickly lose in quality after gathering; if 
they heat in piles or packages, they are of very inferior 
quality. 

■ Varieties. For very early use, the Cory is a general 
favorite and is probably earlier than any other kind. It will 
often mature in eight weeks. Early Minnesota is a little later 




Fig. 69.— Early Cory corn. 

but a much better table variety. For second early and mid- 
season use, Perry's Hybrid, Moore's'^oncord, Potter's Excel- 
sior and Landreth's Sugar are excellent. 

For late use, requiring a long season, Stowell's Evergreen, 
and Egyptian Mammoth are desirable. These kinds have 
large ears and are particularly desirable for canning pur- 
poses. The Country Gentleman is a peculiar late variety of 



140 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

great merit. The kernels are narrow and long- and not ar- 
ranged in rows but irregularly on the ear. It has, perhaps, 




Fig. 70. — Late sweet corn. 

the smallest cob of any known variety. While it requires a 
long season to get it to an edible size, it is of line quality and 
very desirable for home use. 

Pop corn is grown in the same way as sweet corn. For 
home use, a very little will suffice; in some sections, however, 
it is raised in large quantities. It is usually marketed on the 
cob and is seldom salable until at least one year old. 
Among the best varieties are White Rice and Golden Pop. 

Varieties of corn run out and change very quickly, and there 
is often much difference in the strains of different kinds. Those 
that it is desired to keep pure should be grown at least 1000 
feet away from other kinds that flower at the same period. Varie- 
ties of corn of tvery description, including all those belonging 
to the sweet, dent, flint and pop corn classes, will mix together 
when rightly situated. In saving seed of the late varieties of 
sweet corn, it is necessary to give it plenty of light and air, as 
it is rather difficult to cure. A good way is to tie it in small 
bunches and suspend in a dry, hot, airy room. Seed corn 
should never be subjected to a freezing temperature until it is 
thoroughly dry, or its germinating qualities will be injured. 

Preserving Green Corn. Green corn is often preserved in a 



CORN. 



141 



small way by cooking and then cutting- it from the cob and 
drying it in the sun, oven or evaporator. It is also preserved 
in brine by first cooking it and then treating the same as 
recommended for cucumber pickles. It may also be cut from 
the cob after cooking and packed in a vessel in layers alter, 
nating with salt, using about seven pounds of salt to a bushel 
of kernels. 

Cutting off the Tassels. It has been recommended to cut off 
half of the tassels from the young corn, on the ground that 
one-half the tassels would produce all the pollen needed by all 
the kernels. While some experiments have shown this to be 
true, many other experiments show there is little if anything to 
be gained by the practice. 

Insects. Corn is quite free from serious injury, either from 
insects or diseases. The most injurious insects are the cut 
worm and boll worm, for discussion of which see chapter on 
insects. 

Smui [Ustilago 31aydis) is almost the only disease seriously 
injurious to corn. It is a fungous disease that works in almost 

any part of the plant, 
causing swellings which 
contain black spores. 
When ripe, the swellings 
burst and the spores are 
scattered to continue the 
disease another year. 
There can be no question 
but that gathering and 
destroying the bunches of 
spores by burning or bu- 
rying them deeply in the 
ground would result in 
Fig. 71. -Corn smut. (Ustilago Maydis.) greatly lessening the loss 
from this cause. It is, however, such an expensive remedy 
as to seem almost impracticable. Some experiments seem to 
show that soaking the seed in a solution of sulphate of copper 
may assist in preventing this trouble in corn as well as smut in 
wheat, but other experiments apparently prove the contrary, 
and it may be taken as a doubtful matter at the best. Prac- 
tically, then, we know of no sure remedy for smut in corn. 




142 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

CRE S S . ( Pepper Gra s s . ) ( LepicUimi sativum. ) 

Native of Persia. — Annual. — An early spring vegetable, 
used as a salad and for garnishing and of the easiest cul- 
ture. It should be sown very early in the spring in the hot- 
bed or outdoors in rows one foot or less apart. As it quickly 
runsto seed, a succession of sowings should bemade every eight 
or ten days. It is only in demand in the early spring or in 
winter. It can easily be grown in a window box in a dwelling 
house. Flowers white and small; seeds comparatively large. 

WATEPv CPvESS. [JS'asturtium officimde. ) 

Native of Europe. — Perennial. — An aquatic plant with 
long stems, which readily take root in moist soil ov in water. 
It is esteemed for use as a salad on account of its pleasant 
pungent flavor. Leaves are compound, with roundish divis- 
ions; flowers, small, white, in terminal spikes; seeds, usually 
few, very fine, in slightly curved pods. 

Culture. It can only be cultivated successfully in moist 
situations and generally does best along the edges of streams, 
where it grows partially in the water. It may, however, be 
grown successfully in any moist soil, even in a greenhouse. It 
is very hardy, but for best results should be covered with water 
during winter. Most of the supply for our markets comes 
from along the courses of natural streams. In Europe, trenches 
from 16 to 20 feet wide for growing water cress are often ex- 
cavated, into which running water may be turned at pleasure. 
In the bottom of these trenches, the roots of the cress are 
planted. The water is then let in, and the plants are not in- 
terfered with until they have grown strong enough to yield a 
crop of leaves. It is often practicable to make narrow beds 
about springs or slow running streams for this purpose. 

CUCUMBER. ( Cucumis sativus. ) 

Native of the East Indies. — Annual. — A creeping plant wiih 
angular, flexible stems, rough to touch and furnished with 
tendrils. The flowers are yellow, in the axils of the leaves, 
some male, others female; the latter flowers are on the ovary, 
which becomes the cucumber. The plants produce flowers and 
fruit in succession over a long season, and these are naturally 



CUCUMBER. 143 

pollenized by insects. The seed is long, oval in form and 
yellowish-white in color. 

Cultivation. The land for cucumbers should be a deep, rich, 
somewhat i-etentive loam, and yet this vegetable will do very 
well with only moderately favorable conditions. For ordinary 
use and for the home garden, cucumber seed should be planted 
after the ground is warm, say from the middle to the last of 
May, but it may be planted with good results as late as the 
middle of June. It is quite customary to furrow out the land 
six feet apart one way, mark crossways of the furrows 
with a six foot marker and put a shovelful of well rotted 
manure or compost at each intersection. Cover this manure 
with soil and plant the cucumber seed. Of course, when the 
land is in the best, conditioli, it is not necessary to put 
manure in the hills: in such cases, all that is necessary is to 
mark out both ways and plant at the intersections. 
About ten or a dozen seeds should be put in each hill and 
covered about one inch deep, and the soil packed over the 
seeds. As soon as the plants are up, and after each rain, 
they should have the soil loosened around them. They should 
also be kept dusted with Paris green and plaster or some other 
dust, to keep off the striped beetles, which are often very 
troublesome and may destroy the plants when they are small 
unless preventive measures are used. (See chapter on insects. ) 
The land should be cultivated both ways until the vines prevent 
it, so that very little work will have to be done by hand. 
About three good plants are enough for each hill, and the 
rest should be removed after the danger from serious insect 
injuries has passed. 

Gathering the Crop. If for table use or for marketing in a 
green state, the cucumbers are gathered when full grown but 
still green; if for pickles, the cucumbers are gathered as soon 
as of the required size, which is generally when they are 
about three inches long. Some factories put up larger and 
some smaller pickles than this size. To gather them of just 
the right size requires that the whole bed be picked over about 
once in two days. This is a matter of much labor and is 
generally paid for by the piece. No cucumbers should be al- 
lowed to go to seed if pickles or table cucumbers are wanted, 
for as soon as seed is ripened the plants commence to die off, 



144 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

while if constantly gathered when green and not allowed to 
ripen, the plants will continue bearing a longtime. In the vicin- 
ity of pickling factories, cucumbers for pickles are often raised 
in large quantities as a farm crop and are contracted for at a 
specified price per thousand or per hundred pounds, for the 
season. For home use or for storing and marketing in the 
winter, the cucumbers are packed in salt or salt brine when 
gathered. Growers generally use about seven pounds of salt 
to a bushel of cucumbers. They may also be packed in dry 
salt in layers, which has the effect of taking the water out of 
the cucumbers, causing them to shrivel up and lie in their own 
juice. When wanted for use, they are freshened out in water, 
which causes those that are shrivelled to sweU up plump; they 
are then put in vinegar. Cucumber pickles are easily kept 
until the following spring in this way, but when kept later than 
spring they get soft and are not so desirable. Cucumbers will 
stand without injury a great amount of dry weather if fre- 
quently cultivated. 

Starting cucumbers in cold frames and hotbeds and then 
transplanting them to the open ground when all danger of frost 
is over is a common practice where they are wanted for early 
use. Under this system the seed is sown in old strawberry 
boxes, tomato cans, flower pots, etc. Square pieces of in- 
verted sod are also used for the same purpose, four or five 
seeds being sown on each piece five inches square and covered 
with good soil. The plants in this latter case root into the 
sod and are easily moved. Starting cucumbers this way has 
the merit of advancing the period of maturity of the plants, 
and as they are well started when set out there is little danger 
of attacks of the striped beetle, and the fruit is earlier than 
when sown in the open ground. In following out this plan, 
the seed should not be sown before the first of May, or the 
plants will be too large to move well. Before the plants are 
removed from the frames to the open ground, they should be 
exposed without the sash for several days until well hardened 
off. When these plants are moved to the open ground, they 
should be set rather deeper than they grew in the frames. 
They are then cultivated the same as plants from seed sown in 
the hill. Another way for advancing the cucumber season 
when hotbed sash is used is by planting a hill of them very 



CUCUMBER. 145 

early, in the center of each sash of the hotbed, the rest of each 
sash may be used for an early crop. The cucumbers will not 
need much room for several weeks, which will give time to 
grow the early crop and get it out of the way of the 




Fig. 72. Chicago Pickling Cucumber. 

cucumbers. The sashes should be removed when warm weather 
comes, and the vines allowed to grow in the frames all summer. 

Insects. The cucumber has a serious enemy in the striped 
beetle and is also liable to injury from the cut worm. ( For 
remedies see chapter on insects. ) 

Varieties. For general home use and marketing, the White 
Spine is a favorite. For pickles the most profitable kinds are 
those producing many small cucumbers, such as the variety 
known as the Boston Pickling. There are many good varie- 
ties of cucumbers, and they are offered under various names. 
For earliest use, the Early Russian is perhaps the best, but 
it is small. 

Seed. Cucumber seed is easily raised, and in some loca- 
tions it is a product of some importance. In raising seed, it 
is important to save it from the early fruit, which in a small 
way are easily saved ; on a large scale, the fruits are allowed 
to ripen but not to rot on the ground. When the vines are 
dead, the ripe cucumbers are split open, the pulp scooped out 
with the seeds and allowed to ferment for a few days, when it 
readily separates from the seed. The whole mass is then 



146 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



thrown into a sieve with a mesh small enoug^h to not allow the 
seeds to pass through, and the pulp is washed through the 
sieve, leaving the clean seed, which is carefully dried. If the 
cucumbers are allowed to get rotten before the seed is taken 
out, the skins will become mixed with the seed, and the seed 
will be discolored. 




Fig. 



Dandelion. 



DANDELION, ( Taraxacum officinale. ) 

Native of Europe. — Perennial. — The dandelion is a famil- 
iar plant to almost every one. It is now of spontaneous 

growth here, and is used for 
greens in its wild state; but the 
cultivated varieties are quite 
an improvement on the wild 
plants. The best method of 
growing it is by sowing the seed 
in the spring in drills ten in- 
ches apart and thinning out the 
plants to three inches apart in 
rows. The seed is somewhat 
difficult to start, and it is a 
good plan to go oyer each row 
twice with the seed sower, so as 
as to mix the seed up with the 
soil, since by this method some of it will be sure to be pro- 
perly covered for germinating. It is sometimes used in the 
fall but not generally until spring. It is often forced by cov- 
ering the bed with the hotbed sash or by transplanting to 
hotbeds or cold frames. It is sometimes blanched and used 
as a salad, for which purpose it is much like endive. While 
the plant is a perennial, yet only one crop should be harvest- 
ed, since after the first cutting there are many sprouts pro- 
duced from each root, so that none of them are large enough for 
good market plants. The plants should always be plowed in 
before they ripen seed, unless seed is to be saved, to prevent 
its scattering and becoming a nuisance. A variety called the 
Improved-Thick-Leaved is the most esteemed. 

EGG PLANT. ( Solanum Melongena. ) 
Native of South America. — Annual. — Stem erect and 



ENDIVE. 



147 



branching-; flowers solitary and violet in color; seeds flat, of 

medium size. The eg-g- plant is little used in this section but 

can be g-rown to perfection in our hot, dry 

.^f^^^K summers. The seed must be sown, even ear- 

ri^^tijl^^ lier than tomato seeds, in the greenhouse 

or hotbed, but when only a few plants are 

wanted it will be found best to buy the plants, 

as they require delicate handling-. The 

plants are set in rows three by two feet apart 

after the g-round is well warmed up, which is 

seldom before the tenth of June. 

The fruit attains marketable size by the last of Aug-ust. 

The plants are very liable to the attacks of the potato beetle. 

The best variety is the New York purple. The variety known 

as the Long- Purple is somewhat earlier. 




Fig. 74. Egg Plant. 



ENDIVE. { Cichorium Endivia. ) 

Native of the East India. — Annual. — Endive resembles the 
dandelion in habit and g-rowth. It is esteemed by some as a 
desirable fall and winter 
salad since it has a pleas- 
ant bitter taste when 
blanched. It is of very 
simple culture and may be 
grown in much the same 
manner as lettuce. For 
summer use, sow the seed 
early in the spring; for 
autumn and winter use, 
sow in .July. It is blanched 
before being eaten. This 
is accomplished by tying 
the leaves lightly together 
when the plants have near- 
ly completed their growth. 
After this treatment, the leaves in the center of the plant will 
have become blanched in about three weeks. Do not tie the 
plaDts too rapidly, since the hearts are liable to rot soon 
after blanching, especially if the weather is warm. On the 
approach of severe weather, the plants may be planted in 




Fig. 



Curled Endive. 



148 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

boxes in a cold cellar, where they will continue to produce a 
nice salad during the early part of the winter. 

A variety known as the Green Curled is generally grown, 
but other varieties are offered by seedsmen. 

GARDEN HERBS. 

Under this head are grouped a number of sweet, culinary 
and medicinal plants that are cultivated to some extent in 
gardens. They are generally easily grown in mellow, open 
soil. Those having foliage that is esteemed for its aroma 
should generally be cut on a dry day, just as they reach 
full flowering stage, and should be dried quickly in the shade. 
As a rule, herbs should be cut before being frozen, though 
freezing does not always injure them. When dry, they should 
be kept in dry air-tight boxes or vessels. The demand is very 
limited for most of them. Only a few of the most common 
kinds are referred to here. In the extreme Northern states, 
many of the perennial kinds will kill out in severe winters. 

Anise. [Pinpinella anisum.) A Native of Asia Minor. — 
Annual. — Attains a height of sixteen inches. The seeds are 
small and used in medicine. Sow in April or May where the 
plants are to remain during the season. 

Balm. [MelUssa officinalis.) A Native of the South of 
Europe. — Perennial. — A plant growing about eighteen inches 
high: seed, very small. Sow in spring where plants are to 
remain. 

Sweet Basil. ( Ocymum Basilicum. ) Native of India. — 
Annual. — Stem about one foot high; very branching. The 
leaves and other green parts have an agreeable aromatic 
odor and are used in seasoning. Sow indoors in March or 
April and transplant as soon as the weather is settled. It 
may also be sown in the open ground early in the spring. 

Caraway. [Carum Carui.) Native of Europe. — Biennial. — 
Stem straight, two or three feet high. The seeds resemble 
those of carrots. It should be sown in May in drills and 
does not go to seed until the following season, very hardy and 
of the easiest culture. The seeds are esteemed for flavoring. 

Dill. {Anethumgraveoleus.) Native of Southern Europe. — 
Annual. — Height, from two to two and a half feet. It is of 



GARDEN HERBS. 



149 



the easiest culture. The seed is much used as flavoring- for 
pickles of various kinds. It should be sown in the spring or 
summer in rows about one foot apart and cultivated the same as 
for carrots. Where the seed ripens, an abundance of plants 
will spring up the following- year. 

Sweet Marjoram. {Origanum Marjorana. ) Native of Asia. — 
Perennial but generally grown as an annual. — The leaves and 
other green parts are used for seasoning. The seeds are very 
small. Sow early in spring in any good garden soil. 

Summer Savory. ( Satureia hortensis. ) Native of Southern 
Europe.— Annual. — A small plant eight to ten inches high. 
The seed, which is very small, should be sown the latter part 
of April or in May. The leaves and young shoots are used 
for flavoring. 

Common Sage. ( Salria officinalis. ) Native of Southern 
Europe. — Perennial. — Plants forming broad tufts about six- 
teen inches high: flowers in heads 
of three or four in terminal clus- 
ters, usually blueish white but 
sometimes white or pink. The 
seeds are round and of medium 
size. Plants come readily from 
seed, which should be sown in 
early spring. It is customary 
in a small way to sow the seed 
outdoors and allow the plants to 
remain where they grow for sever- 
al years. Where it is grown on 
a large scale, however, the plants 
are generally put out as a second 
crop, following such crops a sear- 
Fig. 76. Branch of Sage plant, i^ peas or cabbage. There is 

some uncertainty about its coming through very severe win- 
ters in the more Northern states, but it generally does so in 
good shape; it is more reliable if banked with earth or cov- 
ered with litter in winter. Broad-leaved sage is an improved 
kind. 

Thyme. ( Thymus vulgaris. ) Native of Southern I^urope. — 
Perennial. — A small plant with small aromatic leaves and 
stems. It starts easily if sown in early spring. It is custom- 




150 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

ary to sow the seed where the plants are to remain, but it may 
be transplanted. It is in demand for flavoring-; is generally 
hardy at the north. Broad-leaved thyme is the only variety 
worth g-rowing-. 

Mint or Spearmint. [Mentha viridis.) Native of Europe. — 
Perennial. — A plant with vigorous creeping root stock, very 
hardy; sometimes a troublesome weed in moist soil. It is 
grown by planting the roots in the spring. There is a small 
demand for this plant in winter as well as in summer, which 
is met by a greenhouse supply. The leaves and young shoots 
are used for seasoning. 

Peppermint. ( Mentha piperita. ) Native of Northern Eur- 
ope. — Perennial. — Propagated by divisions of the stems; 
occasionally a roadside weed in moist places. It is cultivated 
in the same way as spearmint. Used mostly for its essential 
oil which is obtained by distillation. The raising of this 
plant forms a considerable industry in a few locations in 
the Northern states. 

HORSERADISH. [Nasturium Armoracia.) 

Native of Europe. — Perennial. — Flowers white and small, 
in long clusters; seed vessels small, rounded and almost al- 
ways barren. Propagated by cuttings of the roots. 

Cultivation. This plant delights in deep, moist soil, but will 
grow in almost any situation and is very hardy. For home use 
it is customary to let it remain in some neglected corner, where it 
kills out everything else, and though treated in this way it 
yields sufficient roots for home use; yet the roots are so 
crowded that they are scarcely salable. When grown as a 
market crop, it is planted anew each year. Straight pieces of 
roots six or eight inches long, called "sets,'' are planted 
about twelve inches apart, in rows two feet apart, early in 
the spring. The roots must be set right end uppermost, or 
they will not grow smooth or straight. An iron bar is the 
most convenient tool for planting the '"sets". The top of the 
sets should be about two inches below the surface. It is cus- 
tomary to grow horseradish as a second crop after peas or 
cabbage, by setting the roots between the rows of the first crop 
and cultivating the soil without regard to them until the first 
crop is harvested. It does not seem to hurt horseradish 



KALE. 151 

* 'sets'' much if they are cut off a few times in cultivating- 
early in the season. When the first crop is gathered, the 
land is thoroughly cultivated, and the horseradish plants 
g-iven good care. This plant makes its greatest growth in 
autumn and is dug on the approach of winter or can be left 
until spring. It must never be left two years on the same 
land, or else great labor will be required to get rid of it, and 
the roots will be so crooked as to be almost unsalable. 
Horseradish is used almost entirely after grinding or grating 
the roots and mixing with vinegar. It will keep for any 
length of time when thus prepared and kept in air-tight pack- 
ages. It is also ground and dried, and the young leaves are 
sometimes used for greens. The demand is limited, though 
considerable quantities are sold each year. Under some 
conditions it is a paying crop, but the business is very apt to 
be overdone. There are no varieties, 

KALE OR BORECOLE. [Brassica oleracea var.) 

Native of Europe and Asia. — Annual or biennial. — The 

seed is like that of 
the cabbage or 
kohl-rabi. Under 
this head is grouped 
a number of vege- 
tables closely rela- 
ted to the cabbage 
and kohl-rabi that 
are used for greens. 
Fig. 77. Kale. None of them are 

sufficiently hardy in the extreme north to stand out over win- 
ter. They are here cultivated in the same manner as turnips. 
In sections where the winters are mild, some of them are es- 
teemed for planting in autumn for early spring use. 

KOHL-RABI. { Brassica oleracea var.) 

Kohl-rabi has been derived from a plant nearly allied to 
the cabbage, and its seed resembles cabbage seed. Its pecu- 
liarity is its swollen stem just above the ground, which is 
used for the same purpose and grown in the same general way 




152 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



as the turDip. 



-Biennial. 



It is more highly esteemed than turnips for 
early summer use. 
^ Like turnips it 

should be sown 
where it is to mature, 
and it may be stored 
in winter like turnips. 
Varieties. There 
are small tender va- 
rieties especially de- 
signed for table use 
and others that grow 
to large size and are 
valuable for feeding 
stock. Two of the 
best for table use are 
the White, or Purple, 
Vienna. 

LEEKS. {Allium 
Porrum. ) 

Said to be a na- 
tive of Switzerland. 
-The leek is closely allied to the onion, which 

However, it 




Kohl-rabi. 



it resembles in flavor, color of seed and flower, 
does not form a bulb but a straight 
bunch of leaves, that are used al- 
most entirely in a fresh, or un- 
cooked, condition. The leaves are 
flat instead of round and hollow, as 
is the case with onions. As yet the 
vegetable is little grown in this 
country except around the large ci- 
ties. 

Cultivation. Its requirements are 
about the same, and it may be culti- 
vated in much the same way as the 
onion, but it is more common to sow 
the seed early in spring and trans- ^'ig. 79. Leek, 

plant in the summer, setting plants very deep, as the market value 




LETTUCE. 15» 

depends on the blanched condition of the stem: and for the= 
same reason in hoeing- the soil is drawn up over the stem. 
They transplant very easily when the soil is moist, but should 
have the tops trimmed off as recommended in transplanting- 
onions. If they are not transplanted, especial care should be 
taken to draw the soil towards the plants in hoeing. They 
may be stored in the same manner as celery, and are mark- 
eted in bunches the same as green onions. 

Varieties. There are several varieties which vary in form 
and color. 

Large Flag leek is a popular sort and. perhaps, more 
largely grown than any other. 

Scotch Flag or Musselburgh leek is longer than the above 
but not quite so large round. 

LETTUCE. [Lactuca sativa.) 

Native of India or Central Asia. — Annual. — Flow^ers yel- 
low^, on seed stalks two or more feet high: seeds small, flat, 
white or black but sometimes yellow or reddish brown in col- 
or. The shape and size of the leaves also vary greatly; some- 
times they form a head like the cabbage and again only a 
loose bunch. The foliage is generally of some shade of green, 
but some varieties have leaves of a reddish color. 

Cultivation. Lettuce is largely grown in greenhouses dur- 
ing the winter, in hotbeds and cold frames in the early spring- 
and outdoors in the late spring and until severe weather in 
autumn. It is a very important crop for the market gardener, 
as there is some demand for it at all seasons of the year and 
a large call for it in the spring. Some growers making a spe- 
cialty of this crop have it in marketable condition every 
month of the year. In some sections, the plants may be start- 
ed in September and when of good size transplanted to a cold 
frame, where they may be safely wintered over. In the spring- 
they are used for planting in hotbeds and in the open ground- 
in the extreme Northern states, however, although plants fre- 
quently come through the winter safely when thus protected, 
it is not a method to be depended upon. It is customary here 
to raise the plants for spring planting, in greenhouses or early 
hotbeds. Lettuce may be transplanted to the" open ground as 
soon as the soil will work easily in the s^Dring, but it should 



154 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

"be well hardened off before being planted out; it will, however, 
stand quite a severe freeze if properly hardened off, and, as in 
the case with many other crops, the plants may be covered 
with earth on the approach of hard frost, providing it does 
not remain over them more than a day or two. In the open 




Fig. 80. Black-seeded Simpson Lettuce. (Typical curly sort.) 

ground, lettuce plants should be set out about twelve inches 
apart each way. It is frequently grown between rows of early 
cabbage, cauliflower or other plants where it fills up other- 
wise unoccupied space and comes oft' the land long before other 
crops need the room it occupies. For late use, the seed is 
often sown in the open ground in drills one foot apart and 
the plants thinned to the same distance apart. It is custom- 
ary also in the home garden to sow the seed and then cut off 
the young plants as soon as they are large enough to use; 
such lettuce, however, is not nearly so good as head lettuce 
where the center is white, crisp and tender. It is a far better 
plan to thin out the young plants so that they stand three or 
four inches apart in the rows and in cutting continue the 
thinning process so that the later plants will form good heads. 
Of course, it is necessary to make successive sowings of let- 
tuce in order to have it fit for table use over'a long season. 
Like all leaf crops, lettuce needs plenty of rich, easily avail- 



LETTUCE. 



155 



able nitrog-enous manure and responds very quickly to small 
applications of nitrate of soda. 

Varieties. There are many varieties and each year finds 
many additions to the list of those offered by seedsmen. In 
the matter of quality, those forming a head like the cabbage 
have the preference. Varieties that form only a bunch of 
leaves are largely raised b}^ market gardeners to supply the 
common demand, since they are more easily grown and are 
less liable to injury in handling than the heading varieties. 
Some of the most desirable kinds are as follows: 




Fig 81. Head Lettuce. 

White Tennis B all, or Boston Market. A variety 
adapted for early spring use only. It forms a solid head of 
medium size but quickly goes to seed in warm weather. 

Hanson. Forms large solid heads and is a general favor- 
ite. It is an excellent spring or summer lettuce. 

Black- Seeded Simpson. A popular forcing variety that 
stands well without going to seed and does not form a head 
but a mass of curled leaves. 

Grand Rapids. A very desirable lettuce for forcing, and 
it resembles Black- Seeded Simpson. 

Black-Seeded Tennis Ball. A popular sort for forcing 
or early garden culture. It forms a large, solid head and is 
highly esteemed. 

Salamander. A good heading sort for summer use. 



156 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

Buttercup. Brig-ht chrome yellow iii color, very beau- 
tiful; tender and desirable. A popular new sort. 

Insects and Diseases. There are few insects or diseases that 
seriously aifect the lettuce when grown outdoors. In the 
greenhouse and occasionally in the hotbeds, it is sometimes 
attacked by the aphis and mildew. For remedies for aphis, 
see chapter on insects. Mildew is most abundant where the 
conditions for healthy growth are wanting. 

M ARTYNIA . (Martynia prohosidea. ) 

Native of Southwestern United States. — Annual. — A coarse- 
growing, spreading plant, having a. 
peculiar shaped fruit that is used for 
pickles. The flowers are large, ir- 
regular and rather pretty. The fruit 
is tender when young but is nearly as 
hard as horn when ripe. The seeds- 
are black with a rough surface. 

Culture. This is a plant of the easi- 
est culture. The seed should be sown 

as soon as the soil settles in the spring, 
Fig. 82.-Martynia. .^ j^-^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^p^^^ ^^^-^ 

way. Where seed are allowed to ripen, plants usually ap- 
pear the following spring. There is only one variety. 

MUSKMELON. {Cucumis melo.) 

Native of the warm parts of Asia. — Annual. — Cultivated 
from a very remote period of antiquity. It resembles the cu- 
cumber in habit of growth, and, like it and the squash, the 
different sexes of flowers are separate on the same plant and 
in nature require the agency of insects to pollenize them;, 
however, they may be pollenized by hand, and the directions 
given for pollenizing cucumber flowers apply here. In quite 
a few cases the flowers of the muskmelon are perfect, that is, 
have both stamens and pistils; but it is likely that even in 
these cases cross-fertilization is necessary. The seed re- 
sembles cucumber seed in size and form. The fruit varies in 
shape but is commonly round or oval. The flesh varies in 
color from nearly white to deep orange. This is one of the 




MUSKMELON. 



157 



most healthful and delicious of fruits, and our warm brig-ht 
summers are especially favorable to its growth. As far north 
as Minneapolis, this fruit is often so plentiful as to cause a glut 
in the market. 

Culture. The culture of muskmelons is practically the same 
as that recommended for cucumbers, and the insect pests are 
also the same. A warm soil is, if anything-, more desirable 
for this crop than for cucumbers, and in moist seasons it does 
especially well on very sandy land, providing it has been 
manured. It is a good plan to pinch off the ends of the vines 
after they have grown several feet for the purpose of forcing 
out the laterals on which the fruit is borne, although this is 
not customary in growing them on a large scale. Late settings 




Fig. 83.— Musk Melons. 1.— California Citron. 2.— White Japan. 3.— Miller's 
Cream. 4. — Extra Early, 

of fruit may be removed to advantage in September, as they 
then have not time to mature. The fruit is not ripe until the 
stem separates easily from it. Fruit ripened on the vine is of 
the best quality, but for shipping purposes it should be picked 
when still green. Almost without exception, melons with 
finely netted skins are of better quality than those with 
smooth or coarsely netted skins. So true is this that buyers 
refuse to buy the latter. In order to make the fruit ripen 
earlier and to avoid the attacks of the striped beetle, the 
plants are often started in pots and on sods in hotbeds or 
frames, as recommended for cucumbers. It is a good plan 
also to place a piece of glass or board under the melons where 



158 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

the best quality is desired, since this keeps them off the ground, 
and they ripen more evenly in consequence. 

Varieties. Melons vary much in size, form, color of skin 
and flesh and in quality. There are many kinds, but only a 
few are referred to here. 

Christiana, or Early Christiana is a popular melon, 
of extra good quality, with salmon colored flesh. 

Osage, or Miller's Cream. A large melon having firm 
salmon colored flesh, very productive and highly esteemed for 
the market and home garden. Perhaps, the best shipping sort 
now grown. 

California Citron muskmelon is a variety especially 
popular in some northern markets for home market and for 
shipping. 

Emerald Gem is a very prolific melon, with small but very 
superior fruit that is valuable for home use. 

WATERMELON. iCitmlUs vulgaris. ) 

Native of Africa. — Annual. — A vine of the same general 
habit as the muskmelon, but the leaves are deeply lobed, and 
the whole plant is covered with soft, grayish hairs that give it 
a grayish aspect. The flowers are the same in structure as 
those of the cucumber or muskmelon. The seeds are large 
but vary much in size, color and markings. The fruit varies 
in color of skin from pale yellow to deep green and is often 
mottled: the flesh varies from white to pink or yellow. Some 
are tasteless and insipid, and others are sugary and refresh- 
ing. The fruit often weighs as much as fifty pounds in good 
seasons when grown in favorable locations, even in the ex- 
treme Northern states. 

Culture. The method of culture is the same as for the 
cucumber and muskmelon, with the exception that the vines 
should not be pinched, and they require rather more room in 
which to grow. They should be planted about eight feet apart 
each way. 

Varieties. There are many kinds of watermelon offered by 
seedsmen, differing from one another in many particulars. 
Several of the most esteemed are the following: 



MUSHROOM. 



159 



Dark and Light Icing, or Ice Rind. The best for gen- 
eral use. Well adapted for home use or marketing-. 




Fig. 84.— Varieties of Watermelons. 1.— Iron Clad. 2.— Cuban Queen. 3.— 
Light lee Rind. 4.— Monte Cristo. 5.— Dark Ice Rind. 

Hungarian. A melon of g'ood quality and adapted for 
the home garden. 

Volga. A variety with lig-ht-colored early skin and very 
red flesh. Fruit rather small but of excellent quality and very 
productive. 

Citron, or Preserving Melon. Resembles watermelon, but the 
flesh is hard and only fit for preserves. There is but a limited 
demand for it. 

MUSHROOMS. [Agaricus campestris.) 

There are many edible wild mushrooms, but the species 
referred to above is the kind commonly cultivated. The part 
eaten is really the fruit bearing- portion and not, as many sup- 
pose, the plant itself. The true plant is the white network of 



160 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

iibres which grow in the soil, and it is this part that is used 
in propagating them. 

Culture. The cultivation of the mushroom is often attend- 
ed with uncertainty. It is, however, being grown on an in- 
creasingly larger scale, and the demand for it constantly in- 
creases. The conditions essential to success in growing it 
are a rich artificial soil and a steady temperature of from 
50 to 75 degrees. It is for the purpose of securing this lat- 
ter requisite that cellars and old caves are often utilized in 
its culture, as light is not necessary. Horse manure is a 
practically indispensible material for the growth of mush- 
rooms. If possible, it should be from animals fed on rich, 
nitrogenous food and as free from straw or. other litter as it 
can be obtained. This should be thoroughly mixed with a 
fourth or fifth i)art of good garden soil and is then ready to 
go into the beds. Care should betaken that the beds are in a 
well drained damp place. They may be of any size or shajDe de- 
sired but should be about ten inches deep. Some of the largest 
g-rowers use tiers of shelves or boxes, each one of which is 
eight or ten inches deep, into which they put the soil. What- 
ever the shape of the beds, the soil should be packed into them 
iirmly and evenly and be left smooth on the outside. A ther- 
mometer should then be inserted in the center of the mass. As 
soon as fermentation sets in, the temperature will rise until 
probably over 100 degrees will be indicated, and when it falls to 
80 degrees the bed is ready to receive the spawn. This may 
sometimes be obtained from old hotbeds, but it is best to de- 
pend on that sold by seedsmen, as it is more certain to be free 
from other fungi. The operation of spawning consists in put- 
ting pieces of the spawn bricks the size of small hens' eggs in 
holes made about two inches deep and ten or twelve inches 
apart. Afterwards the holes should be filled with the soil and 
the surface firmed and smoothed ofl". 

If the work has been well done and the conditions are fav- 
orable, the spawn should commence to grow in seven or eight 
days; at the end of that time, it should be examined and any 
pieces that have not started should be removed and be re- 
placed by fresh spawn. A failure in germination is indicated 
by the absence of white threads in the manure around the 
spawn. When the spawn has nicely started and begins to 



MUSHROOM. 161 

show itself on the surface, the bed should be covered with a 
layer one inch thick of fine, slightly moist soil, which should 
be pressed down smoothly and firmly. In damp cellars mush- 
room beds do not need water, but if the surface gets dry they 
should be watered with tepid water from a fine rose watering 
pot. The mushrooms should show in from five to eight weeks, 
and the bed continue to yield for two or three months. The 
spawn bricks, as they are termed by seedsmen, are simply flat 
square pieces of a mixture of manure and loam into which 
spawn has been put and has grown until it fills the whole 
l^iece. Afterwards these bricks are dried and form the mush- 
room bricks of commerce. 

Native Mushrooms. There are quite a number ot native 
mushrooms that are edible, but since there are also several 
poisonous kinds one should be careful about trying unknown 




Fig. 85.— Native Mushrooms. On the left is shown the giant puff ball (Lyco- 
perdon giganteum): on the right maned agaric {C'ojjrinus comatus), 
in various stages of maturity. 

sorts. Among the edible kinds are the several sorts known as 
puff balls [Lycoperdon.) When these first appear, they are 
white balls of a fleshy texture with little or no stalk; as they 
ripen, the flesh turns gradually to a dark brown, and finally 
the spores are ejected by the ball being crushed or naturally 
breaking open. They are not fit to eat after the flesh begins 
to turn brown. The smaller sorts are most common, but the 
giant puff ball is occasionally met with and is often ten or 
more inches in diameter. 

Another common native mushroom is shown in figure 85. 



162 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

It has a stem several inches high, but the top does not expand 
and is one of the most delicious of all the mushroom tribe when 
young-. It is called the maned agaric {Coprinus comatus. ) It 
grows in waste and grassy places, lawns and meadows. The 
gills (layers on the under part of the head) are at first white 
or pink, melting into an inky fluid-like substance when more 
mature. Only young specimens are desirable for table use. 
Little attention has ever been paid in this country to 
growing our native species. They could undoubtedly be 
propagated by digging up some of the earth where they grow- 
abundantly and mixing it with the soil where it is desired to 
grow them. The kinds mentioned mature in the latter part of 
summer and are especially abundant in old pastures or other 
places containing much decaying organic matter and during 
moist weather. If an attempt was made to grow them, it 
would probably be necessary to keep the ground moist all 
summer to secure the best results. 



ONIONS. [Allium Cepa.) 

Native of Central or Western Asia. — Biennial, sometimes 
jDerennial. — The original home of the onion is not known. 
It has no true stem, but this is represented by the base of the 
bulb. The form, color and shape of onions vary greatly in 
different varieties. The free portion of the leaves is elongated 
and swollen in the lower part. The flowers, which are white 
or lilac in color, are borne in dense, round heads on long, 
slender, hollow stalks; sometimes, instead of flowers, a head 
of small bulbs is produced and no seed at all. This may oc- 
cur occasionally in all kinds but is the almost invariable 
characteristic of the tree onion. The seeds are black, angular 
and flattish. Usually the plant after seeding dies and disap- 
pears entirely, but sometimes seed onions produce peculiar 
pointed bulbs, called cloves, as well as seeds. Such plants 
may be considered perennial as well as the potato onion, 
which never seeds and is propagated by the division of its 
bulbs. The onion has been cultivated from remote antiquity, 
and there are very many varieties that have been developed 
for different purposes. These are almost without exception 
grown for their bulbs, but in a few cases no bulbs are formed. 
The bulbs in color are white, red and yellow, with inter- 



ONIONS. 163 

mediate shades. In the successful raising- of the onion, good 
judgment and experience plays an important part. Perhaps 
no vegetable crop is more certain to pay the skilful grower for 
his time and labor and none more liable to cause trouble to 
the careless beginner, and yet its cultivation is quite simple. 
The prices for onions vary greatly. They seldom are so cheap 
as to make the crop unprofitable; but occasionally they 
get down to fifteen cents per bushel, at which price they can- 
not be grown at a profit. There are few animals that eat 
onions, and if not sold they cannot be fed to stock as is the 
case with most vegetables. As a money crop for careful 
growers in many sections they are among the best, and if a 
reasonable amount of them is raised each year without regard 
to the price the preceding year, it is a crop that will generally 
average a good profit. 

Land. Onions may be raised on any good retentive soil. 
Sandy land is too apt to dry out in summer for best results. 
On drained muck land, large crops may easily be raised; al- 
though onions grown on such soil are often a little looser in 
texture than those raised on drier land. The land should be 
rich, fine and free from weeds and any strawy manure or other 
material that would interfere with close cultivation. Too 
much stress cannot be put on having the land free from 
weed seeds, since it is a crop that requires much hand weeding 
and the plants arequite delicate when young. The soil should 
be rather firm for onions and plowed in the fall rather than in 
the spring. Fall plowing leaves the soil firm and in excellent 
condition for this crop. Sometimes when the land is rich it 
is desirable not to plow at all, especially if it was in onions 
the preceding year, but instead to make a seed bed by the use 
of a disk or other good harrow and plant at once; in fact, bet- 
ter results will generally be obtained from spring harrowing 
than from spring plowing of land to be used for onions. Of 
course, if the land is to be harrowed only to prepare it for the 
crop, it is very important, if manure is to be used, that this 
be very fine, so that the harrow will cover it. 

Old land is generally preferred for onions, and this 
crop is often successfully raised on the same land for 
many years. From the fact that onion land is" always most 
carefully attended to and gets much manure and tillage, it is 



164 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

generally in better condition for onions than land in any 
other crop. However, it is a good plan to occasionally change 
the land for onions. since on new land there is far less danger 
from disease and insect enemies than on old land. Land that 
has grown any crop requiring high culture and heavy manur- 
ing and is free from weed seeds will generally grow good 
onions. Sometimes onions are raised on newly cleared wood- 
land or prairie sod with greatest success, simply by sowing 
the seed broadcast and harrowing it in: but this is seldom 
attempted. 

Sowing the Seed. Before sowing the seed the land should 
be made very smooth. It is important to get the seed in the 
ground as early in the spring as possible*. As soon as the 
land can be worked in the spring, the seed should be sown, 
the earlier the better. The seed of some kinds can be sown in 
the autumn to advantage, but on land that is inclined to 
''bake" it is a bad practice and is seldom attempted. There 
is, however, a fair chance of a crop even if the seed is sown as 
late as the first of June, but a first-class crop from seed sown as 
late as this is almost out of the question. By the middle of 
May, all onion seed should be in the ground. The dis- 
tance apart of the rows will depend somewhat on the variety 
grown, but for ordinary purposes the seed should be sown in 
rows fifteen inches apart and covered one inch deep. About 
eighteen good seeds should be sown to each foot of row, which 
will make it necessary to use four or five pounds of seed per 
acre. If there is danger of much loss from the depredations 
of the onion maggot, more than this amount of seed should be 
used: where maggots are very troublesome, some growers use as 
much as six pounds of seed per acre. The seed sower should 
be carefully tested on a floor or other smooth surface before 
using it in the field to see how it works. It is very important 
to know the germinating qualities of the seed sown, since if it 
is of low germination more must be sown than if of best qual- 
ity. Ninety per cent of good onion seed ought to germinate 
if the conditions are favorable. It is important to closely studj' 
these matters, as it is desirable to have the land well stocked 
with plants and yet not over stocked. It is better to fail of 
getting quite so much seed on the land as is desired than it is 
to get very much more than is wanted, for in the first case the 



ONIONS. 165 

onions, although somewhat scattering-, will be of good size 
while if the plants are too thick they must be thinned out, or 
the onions will be small and inferior. The work of thinning- 
onions on a large scale is a very expensive operation, and 
every precaution should be taken to avoid having to do it. If 
the seed is sown only a little thicker than the plants ought to 
stand, it is a good plan instead of thinning them out to put on 
an extra dressing of some quick acting, easily applied manure, 
such as hen manure, which will probably make it possible for 
the land to mature the whole crop in good shape. Onions 
have the quality of crowding out to the sides of the row and 
on top of one another, so that they may grow pretty thick and 
still be of good size, providing other conditions are fav- 
orable to their development. It is important to have the seed 
sown in straight rows. If the first row is laid otf with a line 
or otherwise made straight, the subsequent rows are easily 
made parallel to it by means of the marker on the seed sower. 
If there are found to be some vacancies in the rows after the 
onions appear, these may be filled by sowing onion saed in them 
by hand: late in the season such vacancies may be filled with 
carrot seed. 

Cultivation. As soon as the plants commence to break the 
surface soil, cultivation should be commenced with a hand cul- 
tivator that will work both sides of the row at one time and 
throw a little earth from the plant: hand weeding should fol- 
low at once. At the second hoeing, the plants being now pretty 
strong, the soil should be cultivated somewhat deeper. This 
will enable a careful man to v;ork the soil very close to the 
plants. Onions naturally grow in the surface of the land and 
not below it and should never be hilled up. The onion crop 
should be hoed and weeded as often as the weeds appear or 
w^heneverthe ground packs hard around the growing plants. 
The weeds should be destroyed when small. This means that 
until early summer the onions should be hoed about once every 
two weeks. When the plants get so large that, they will no 
longer pass under the straddle cultivator without being bruised 
the work nf cultivation must be continued between the rows 
until the bulbs commence to form, after which it. is not a good 
plan to work much among them, since pushing the tops about 
tends to make them die down quicker than otherwise. When 



J 66 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

the onions are about the size of a half dollar and before the 
tops fall over, it is a good plan, if the land is not very rich, 
to apply some quick- acting fertilizer such as hen manure or a 
commercial fertilizer broadcast over the crop. This should 
be done just before or during a rain if possible. For this pur- 
pose dry, fine hen manure is good, but any rich, nitrogenous 
fertilizer will answer. 

If the plants are going to make good onions they will be- 
come weak in the neck just above the bulb when nearly grown 
and fall flat on the ground, where they should be allowed to 
lie undisturbed until the tops and roots are entirely dried, 
when the bulbs are easily pulled out of the ground with a rake 
or onion puller. In the vicinity of St. Paul", this time will be 
in August or the early part of September. About four rows 
of bulbs should be thrown together, and they should beturned 
with a rake every few days until perfectly dry and then be put 
under cover to protect them from rain. If they are allowed to 
get wet several times after being pulled, the outer skins are 
liable to come off and thus make the bulbs unsightly. If not 
pulled for some little time after they-are ripe, especially if the 
season is moist, new roots are very sure to start and the bulbs 
become grown so firmly into the soil that the work of pulling 
and drying them is increased. The work of cutting or twist- 
ing off the tops, called topping, may be left until the onions 
are marketed, but they will be found to keep much better if 
"topped," since if the tops are left on they prevent a free cir- 
culation of the air through the bulbs. 

"Scallions" or "Thick Necks." Sometimes, too, the tops of the 
plants do not die down as they should but remain green and 
continue to grow after the bulbs are well formed, and become 
what arecalled ''scallions" or "thick necks." This is generally 
due to the planting of poorly selected seed, but sometimes it is 
not to be accounted for. In such cases it is generally recom- 
mended to break the tops down, which certainly does no harm, 
but it is of doubtful value. A better way is to pull such 
plants as soon as they begin to grow vigorously after once 
having formed good bulbs, dry them as much as possible and 
remove the tops. However, such onions do not generally 
keep well and had better be used during autumn and early 
winter. 



ONIONS. 167 

Keeping Onions. Onions should be kept in a dry, cool place. 
In a damp cellar they will sprout and grow no matter if the 
temperature there is near the freezing- point. They will stand 
quite a little frost without much injury, but if frozen and 
thawed several times they become soft and do not keep well 
"but start to grow very quickly. The best way of keeping 
onions is in a cold, dry room in slatted bins or on shelves 
so arranged that the air can circulate through them. A very 
practical plan is to put them in barrels without heads, having 
holes in the bottom and sides and pile these on top of one an- 
other two tiers high, first putting down scantling or other 
material to allow the air to circulate under and around them. 
If onions are frozen solid in the autumn and kept so all 
winter, they w^ill come out bright in the spring. A good way 
to do this is to lay them eighteen inches thick on the floor of 
a loft and cover with a foot or so of hay. Thus arranged 
they will not freeze until severe weather sets in and will re- 
main frozen until spring. They may also be put in water- 
proof bins in the field where grown and treated in the same 
way. They should never be handled when frozen, as they are 
apt to bruise. Freezing and thawing several times seriously 
injures them, but if kept frozen and gradually thawed out 
they come out in very nice condition. After thawing out, they 
will not keep well but quickly start to grow, and should be 
disposed of at once. 

Onion sets is a term applied to small onions which are 
planted out in the spring instead of seeds. If onions under 
three-fourths of an inch in diameter are planted out in the 
spring, they do not go to seed as do larger onions but form a 
new bulb and form it much earlier than they are formed when 
^rown from seed. Taking advantage of this fact, it has be- 
come a common practice to raise these small onions (sets ) and 
plant them out for early summer use. It does not matter how 
small the set is, and one the size of a pea is as good as if larger. 
The size generally preferred is about one-half an inch in diam- 
eter. 

Planting onion sets. The method of planting sets is to have 
the land in the same condition as recommended for onion seed 
and plant the sets as soon as the soil can be worked in the 
spring. In doing this mark off the land in drills twelve inches 



168 VEGETABLE GARDENING, 

apart and push each set down firmly, three inches deep into 
the mellow soil, and three inches apart. This is done by hand 
and each set is handled separately, so as to have them right 
side up. The drill is then closed in with the feet or rake, so 
that each set is entirely covered up. If the g-round is dry, it is 
sometimes rolled to make it still more compact around the 
bulbs. As soon as the rows can be seen, the wheel hoe is 
used, and the plants kept free from weeds and the soil well 
stirred. By this treatment they will be of good table size by 
the first of July, and somemay be marketed in bunches in a green 
state in June. Onion sets seldom, if ever, fail to produce 
good crops and are well adapted for use in the home garden 
and by those who will not take the pains necessary to grow 
onions from seed. No matter how poor the soil or the culti- 
vation, where the sets are planted, they always increase in 
size and ripen early. There is no danger of their being in- 
jured by freezing after being planted. From six to ten bushels 
of sets are requii-ed per acre, depending on their size. 

The raising of onion sets is carried on to a large extent in 
some localities, and it is a crop that requires much skill in 
handling. Sandy soil of rather inferior quality but free from 
weeds and in fine tilth is best for this purpose. To keep the 
sets from growing too large, it is customary to plant from 
thirty to fifty pounds of seed per acre and not plant it until 
the latter part of May. This treatment crowds the seedlings 
so that they cannot grow large. In sowing the seed, it is best 
to go over the rows with the seed sower three or four times, 
sowing only a part of the seed each time. This spreads the 
seed out in wide drills and permits of more even work than 
would be possible were it attempted to sow all the seed by 
going over the rows once. If onion sets grow too large it is 
often almost impossible to use th^m for any purpose, since 
they are too small to sell well except for pickling, and the de- 
mand for this purpose is very limited. On this account, if it 
is feared the sets will grow too large, they are pulled when of 
proper size. The further cultivation of plants for sets is the 
same as for a field crop of onions. The sets should be taken 
up in August, or as soon as ripe, with a rake or onion set 
puller. When dry they should be stored, tops and all, about 
four inches deep, in a loft, where they should be covered with a 



ONIONS. 



16» 



foot of hay or straw on the approach of hard frost and left 
until wanted for planting in the spring. In other words, they 
should be kept frozen all winter. Treated in this way, the sets 
will require to be cleaned in the spring, which is done by rub- 
bing them in the hands to loosen the dirt and tops and then 
running them through a fanning mill. After this they are run 
over a screen with a three-fourths inch mesh and only those 
that go through it are saved for sets. This work of cleaning 




Fig. 86.— At the left: onion plants as dug. On the right: onion plants trim- 
med and ready for transplanting. 

may be done in autumn before storing and the sets mixed with 
with chatf to aid in keeping them over winter. 

Transplanting onions. Within a few^ years market gardeners 
have adopted a plan of i-aising onions by sowing t'le seed in 
March in a hotbed and then transplanting the seed! lags to the 
open ground as soon as it is nicely settled. This system has 
the merit of doing away with the first few weedings in the open 
ground, reduces the expense of seed to a minimum and 
makes it possible to raise some of the more delicate foreign 
varieties of onions, which command the highest price in the 
market. It is very doubtful if the common field onions can be 



170 VEGETABLE GARDENIXO. 

raised at a profit under this method. The selection and pre- 
paration of tlie land for this purpose is the same as for a field 
crop. The seed is sown inahotbsd in rows thre3 inches apart, 
or on a small scale a few plants may be raised in a box in 
the window of the living- room. The soil for this purpose 
should be a somewhat sandy loam of only moderate quality, 
and that which has no manure in it is more certain to grow 
healthy plants. If very thick in the row, the plants must be 
thinned out so as not to crowd one another too much but still 




Fig. 87.— Transplanting onions in the field. 

they may be grown very thickly; as many as twelve to fifteen 
plants to the inch of row is about right, and to secure this 
amount about twice as many seeds will have to be sown to the 
inch. Too much importance cannot be attached to the raising 
of strong plants, since those that are weak and spindling are 
very certain to fail. 

For a week or two previous to setting out the plants, they 
should have plenty of fresh air. It is a good plan- to re- 
move the sashes entirely from the hotbeds except when there is 
danger of frost, so that the plants may become hardened off, as 
otherwise they are liable to serious injury by freezing when- 



ONIONS. 171 

moved to the open ground, al though lihey stanfl soTne"free«iag- 
when hardened off. They do not transplant so well when soft 
and succulent as when properly hardened. The land and pre- 
paration required is the same as for a field crop of onions. 
The plants should be set two or three inches apart in rows 
twelve inches apart. Before setting them out the tops should 
be mostly cut oft", and this is especially important if they are weak 
and spindling, as they are then very sure to turn yellow and 
die. If the roots are excessively long, they should be shortened 
to facilitate transplanting. The plants are generally set in 
small furrows opened with a hand cultivator or with a mar- 
ker. They should have the lower part of the bulb about 
an inch deep in the ground. The plants are easily moved, and if 
the soil is well firmed they are very sure to live. About 150,000 
plants are required for an acre, and it is a big job to trans- 
plant them. For this purpose children can generally be em- 
ployed at low wages and they will do the work very well if 
carefully looked after. The expense of transplanting is 
variously estimated at from $25 to $50 per acre. Subsequent 
cultivation is the same as for a field crop of onions. 

Marketing. In a general way the directions for marketing 
onions apply to any other crop. They should be sold as soon 
as a fair price can be obtained for them and not stored unless 
there is a good chance of a rise. In some localities there is a 
large demand for onions for bunching purjDoses before the 
bulbs are formed. In these places it will sometimes pay to 
pull and sell the crop before the tops have died down, but 
generally it should be allow^ed to ripen. The foreign kinds, 
such as can only be raised here by the transplanting method, 
are generally highest in price in early autumn and should 
then be sold. The tops should always be removed before the 
bulbs are marketed, and all small bulbs should be picked out 
and sold separately for pickling purposes. Most markets pre- 
fer onions of medium size, globular rather than flat in 
shape, and yellow or white in color rather than red. Very 
large onions of the common type are not so salable as those 
of medium size: but of the foreign kinds the larger the better, 
and good specimens sometimes weigh as much as two pounds. 

Onions for the home garden should be raised partly from seed 
and partly from sets or transplanting. The small onions picked 



172 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



out from one season's crop may be used as sets the next year. 
Varieties. For general field crops in this section no onion, 
is more certain than Red Wethersfield. The Yellow Danvers- 
is the best yellow kind for this purpose. The earliest matur- 
ing large kind is Extra Early Red. For raising sets the 




Fig. 88.— Varieties of onions. l.—Southport Yellow Globe. 
3.— Red Globe. 4. — Prizetaker. o.— Yellow Uanver.s. 



-Silver Skin. 



Yellow Dutch, called also Yellow Strasburg. is the best kind, 
but any variety may be used for this purpose. For growing' 
in hotbeds, greenhouses or window boxes to be transplanted 
to the open ground, the Prizetaker and Southport Yellow 
Globe are most in demand. 

Potato Onions are always grown from the bulbs, which in- 
crease in size and also produce a cluster of bulbs around the 
one that is planted. They are especially adapted to early 
marketing. 

Egyptian, or Perennial Tree, Onion. This kind is perfectly hardy 
and does not form bulbs, but the bleached part is used in a. 
green state. It produces no seed but instead has a small 
cluster of bulblets where the seed cluster should be. These 
bulblets are planted in September in the same way as recom- 
mended for onion sets and are ready for use as bunch onion& 
very early the following season. 

Onion Seed is raised by planting out the bulbs in the spring 
in rows four feet apart, and for this purpose, bulbs of the greatest 
excellence should be used. It is best to set the bulbs about 
six inches deep and six inches apart in each furrow and to do 



OKRA. 



173 



this plantino- out very early in the 




Fig. 89.— Onion plants in flower. 

lighter seed float they are readily 
separated from the good seed. 
Some of the seed that floats will 
grow, but it is not very desirable 
for planting. The same land that 
grows a crop of onion seed is some- 
times used for growing a crop of cu- 
cumbers or melons at the same 'time, 
since the onions do not shade the 
land nor take much nourishment 
from it except early in the spring. 

OKRA, (Hibiscus esculentus. ) 

Native of South America.— An- 
nual. — The seed is round and of Fi^ 
medium size. It is cultivated for its green 



spring. The seed stalks 
will attain a height 
of about three feet. 
The seed clusters 
ripen somewhat un- 
evenly' but should be 
gathered before they 
are quite drj', or the 
seed will shell out 
and be lost. When 
gathered, they should 
be dried in airy 
chambers and after- 
wards threshed out 
and cleaned with a 
fanning mill or they 
may be cleaned by 
being thrown into 
water. The latter me- 
thod secures the best 
seed. All the seed 
that is full and plump 
will sink in water, 
and as the chaff and 




90.— Dwarf okra. 

seed pods which 



174 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



are highly esteemad for soups. Little grown except at. 
the South. It is of the easiest culture. The seed should be 
sown about two inches apart in rows two feet apart and in 
rich, warm soil. at about thetime forplantingbeans. The pods- 
are produced abundantly but are perhaps not as tender wlien 
grown in our dry atmosphere as they are in the South. The 
flowers are large, yellow and very pretty. 

The Varieties i^nown as Dwarf Green and Long Green are 
best adapted to our climate. 



PARSNIPS. 



Pastinaca satii-a. 



Native of Europe. — Biennial. 




Fig. 91.— Parsnip plant in flowei 



-Cultivated for its long, 
tender root. Seeds light 
brown in color, flat and 
marked with five raised 
lines or ridges. Seed 
stalks three to five feet 
high, with large umbels 
of greenish flowers. 

Culture. The parsnip 
is grown in the same 
manner as the carrot, 
but is rather more par- 
ticular about the soil 
on which it grows. Then, 
too, in manuring the 
land for this crop, it is 
important to use only 
manure which is well 
rotted, as the applica- 
cation of fresh manure 
seems to encourage the 
formation of side roots. 
On hard land, too, there 
is often a tendency for 
the roots to form side 
roots, and, as what is 
desired is a rather thick 



top root, side roots are to be avoided, if possible. It is 
important to sow the seed early and quite thick and then 



PARSLEY. 



175 



to thin out in 



order to be sure of having a good stand of 
plants. The seed germinates rather slow- 
ly. It is also important to have the soil 
for parsnips deep and rich. It is a very- 
hardy crop and may be left in the ground 
until late autumn or even over winter. In 
fact, many believe that freezing them in 
the ground improves their quality. They 
may be safely pitted outdoors by putting 
them in heaps, covering with a few inches 
of hay or straw and then a foot of earth. 
Treated in this way, they can be taken. 
out at any time duringthe winter or early 
spring. It is not advisable to leave the 
crop in the ground over winter, since it 
cannot then be dug out until the frost is 
out of the ground in the spring, by 
which time the demand for parsnips will 
have considerably lessened. If kept in 
an ordinary cellar, they should be cov- 
ered with earth or sand to prevent wilting. 
In marketing the parsnip, it is often 
customary after trimming oflf all side 
shoots, to sell them by the basket without .washing. 
A far better and more equitable plan is to sell them by 
weight. In some of the best markets, the roots, after being 
carefully washed and trimmed, are packed evenly in boxes, 
sixteen inches square and eight inches deep, which liold just a 
bushel. Packed in this way, they present a very neat appear- 
ance. 




Fig. 92.— Hollow Crown 
Parsnip. 



The Hollow Crown or Student parsnip is the best 
kind to grow for table use. 

Turnip Rooted Parsnip, which is short and round, is 
used to some extent. It is a good form on light soils, but 
for rich land the Hollow Crown is to be preferred. 



PARSLEY. {Caru7n petroselinum.) 
Native of Sardinia — Biennial. — The leaves of this plan 



176 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 




^re used in a fresh state for g-arnishing- and seasoning-. In 

habit of growth 
parsley resem- 
bles the parsnip. 
to wliich it is 
closely related. 
The leaves, how- 
ever, are vari- 
ously cut and 
divided. A few 
varieties arc 
g-rown for their 
Fig. 93.— Fine Curled Parsley. . fleshy rOOts. 

Culture. Parsley is grown in much the same manner as 
the parsnip, and, like it, its seed g-erminates rather slowly. 
The seed is often sown for winter and early spring- use in 
greenhouses and hotbeds. The leaves may be used as soon 
as big enough. The roots may be taken up in autumn and 
grown on in a greenhouse or in a box in a sunny window for 
a winter supply. The demand is quite limited. It is sold in 
-small bunches and may be found in the larger markets at any 
season of the year. It seldom comes through our winters 
safely when left exposed outdoors but sometimes does so when 
well protected. 

The Varieties commonly grown are the Double Curled and 
Pire Leaved, either of which makes a border that is pretty 
enough for a flower garden, and it is often used as an edging 
for small kitchen gardens, 

PEAS. [Pisum sativum.) 

The pea is an annual plant of uncertain origin, but prob- 
ably a native of central Europe. The flowers are either white 
or violet colored, but the desirable kinds, almost without ex- 
ception, bear white flowers. 

Varieties of peas are divided into three classes, those 
having wrinkled seed, those having round, small seed and 
thosehaving edible pods. Wrinkled seeded varieties do not 
germinate as well as the smooth skinned or round sorts, nor 
do their germinating powers last so long, nor are they so 
Jiardy in resisting the advej'se conditions of early spring. On 



PEAS. 



177 



account of the latter reason, gardeners plant the round seed 
first in the spring and do not plant the wrinkled kinds until 
the soil is in best condition and somewhat warmed. The 
w^rinkled kinds are better in quality than the round and smooth 
varieties. Peas having edible pods are not popular in this 

country, probably because of 
the ease with which string 
beans are grown. 

Culture. Peas may be grown 
successfully in almost any 
good soil ; they even do 
well on rather i30or soil. 
The smooth seed sorts should 
be planted as soon as the 
ground can be worked in the 
spring— even a hard freeze does 
not hurt the pi ants as they are 
coming out of the ground, and 
they wall stand considerable 
frost when well up. The dis- 
tance between the rows and 
the seeds in the row depends 
somewhat on the kinds grown. 
Some kinds branch out far 
more than others and, conse- 
quently, need more room in 
the row. They also vary in 
length of stem from a few 
inches to six or seven feet. The tall kinds require the rows to be 
five or six feet apart, while dwarf varieties are generally 
planted in rows thirty inches to three feet apart. The grow- 
ing of tall kinds is mostly confined to private gardens, where 
it is customary to use brush or other material in the rows 
for a support. Formerly, among tall varieties, were those far 
excelling in quality anything found among those of a dwarf 
habit, but recent introductions of the latter kinds have 
shown a great improvement in quality, until now the dwarf 
sorts are generally grown, even by the most fastidious. 
In common practice, the seed is sown about four inches 
deep, in rows three feet apart, putting about ten seeds to 




Fig. 94.— Notfs Excelsior pea. 



178 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

each foot of row. It is best to sow plenty of seed to se- 
cure a good stand. The land should be well cultivated be- 
tween the rows. Unleached wood ashes or some oth- 
er fertilizer rich in potash and phosphoric acid is most 
beneficial for this crop. Since it belongs to the legumin- 
ous section of plants, it is a nitrogen producer and, conse- 
quently, does not need much nitrogen in the soil. Early peas 
as generally grown are out of the way in time to allow the 
land to be used for late cabbage or string beans. When it is 
desired to extend the season of table peas, successive sowings 
should be made at intervals of two weeks, up to the tenth of 
June. During the summer the vines are too liable to mildew 
to make late spring plantings successful. Thepea is distinctive- 
ly a cool weather plant and on this account, it will often do 
well when sown in the latter part of summer for use in autumn. 

Varieties. Of the many varieties, only a few of the best are 
referred to here. For very early use, almost every seedsman 
has a strain of smooth, round peas which he sends out under 
his own peculiar name. The early sorts are generally derived 
from the old Daniel O'Rourke, and among them are varieties 
known as First and Best, Earliest of All and Improved Extra 
Early. As a rule, these should be used for first planting only, 
to be followed by plantings of the wrinkled sorts. 

American Wonder is a very dwarf, early, pea of unsur- 
passed quality and very hardy for a wrinkled sort. A rich 
soil and extra cultivation are required to get the best results 
from it. If only one variety is to be grown, this is perhaps 
the best to plant. 

Stratagem. Very productive and justly popular, having 
remarkably large pods filled with rich, sweet peas. It does 
better on light than on heavy soils. 

Yorkshire Hero. An excellent variety . 

Marrowfat. Among the most popular of the old 
varieties. 

Champion of England. A tall growing, popular sort, 
of best quality, that does best when supported by brush or 
wire netting. Late. 

Telephone. Of excellent quality. Pods and seeds large. 



PEPPERS. 



179 



One of the most productive and, consequently, very popular. 
Late. 

Bliss's Abundance. Half-dwarf, branching-, of excel- 
lent quality and very productive. Late. 

Nott's Excelsior. A new, very productive, early, dwarf 
variety that is becoming very popular. 

PEPPERS. [Capsicum a anuum.) 

Native of South America. — Perennial but in cultivation 
grown as an annual. There are many varieties differing 




Fig. 9o —Varieties of Peppers. 1.— Birds Eye. 2.— Tomato Shaped. 3.— 
New Orleans. 4.— Golden Bell. 5.— Very SmaU Cayenne. 6.— Sweet 
Spanish. 7.— Cluster. 8,— Ruby King. 9.— Celestial. {After Landreth.) 

chiefly in the shape of their fruit. All of them have erect, 
branching- stems, which become almost woody. The leaves are 
spear-shaped; flowers, white, star-shaped, solitary in the axils 
of the leaves: fruit, generally hollow with a somewhat fleshy 
skin, at first dark green, but when ripe turning red. yellow or 
dark violet. The seeds are flat and, likethe flesh of the pods, 
have a very acrid, burning taste, for which the plant is culti- 
vated andused in giving flavor to pickles, etc. Their germinat- 
ing power lasts about four years after being separated, 
but if left in the pods they will keep much longer without 
injury. 



180 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



Culture. Peppers need practically the same cultivation as 
the tomato or eg-g- plant, but may be planted two feet apart, in 
rows three feet apart. 

Varieties vary much in the shape of the pods and the 
acridity of their juice. The kinds most commonly grown 
are as follows: 

Ruby King. Fruit very large, bright red, smooth, mild 
flavored and prolific. The best for general use. 

Long Red Cayenne. Fruit long and slender. Very 
pungent. 

POTATO. ( Solamim tuhcrosum. ) 

Native of the high mountain regions of South America. 
— Grown as an annual, but truly a perennial through its 
; tubers. Its stems are 

more or less four an- 
gled. The flowers 
vary in color from 
w^hite to purplish* 
Many kinds do not 
flower, and most va- 
rieties seldom if ev- 
er produce fruit. Th6 
fruit is a roundish or 
slightly oval; berry 
of a green color or 
tinged with violet 
brown and averaging 
about an inch in 
diameter. The pulp 
is green and very ac- 
rid. The seeds are 
white, kidney-shaped 
and flat. The seed 
is never sown except 
for producing new varieties. Seedlings vary greatly and 
often do not obtain full size until three years old. The tubers 
are commonly referred to as "seed," but they should be re- 
garded as cuttings or sets; they are only underground branches 
filled with starchy matter. They vary much in size, shape 




Fig. 96.— Potato plant showing tuber.s and roots. 



POTATO. 181 

and color of skin, from white to almost black, including 
yellow, red and blue. There are hundreds of named varieties, 
but many of them are scarcely distinguishable from other 
named kinds. 

Origin of the Modern Potato. Fifty years ago potato rot ran 
over western Europe and the United States to such an extent 
as to bring starvation in regions where potatoes were the prin- 
cipal article of diet; no one knows where the potato came from 
that was cultivated previously to that time. Rev. Chauncey 
Goodrich, of Utica, N. Y., urged before agricultural societies 
and the agricultural committees of the New York legislature" 
that potato rot resulted from lowered vitality of the potato plant, 
due to its being grown under high cultivation and in climates 
and soils not wholly congenial to a sub-tropical plant, native 
to a small section only of the earth^s surface; and he claimed 
that the way to restore its vigor would be to get varieties 
from the part of South America that was the home of the 
potato. His theories were laughed at by scientific men, and 
the legislative committee told him he knew more about theology 
than about plant diseases. Being thus repulsed, he attempted 
on his own account what he felt should be undertaken by the 
state. Mr. Goodrich commenced his experiments about 1848 
and at various times for many years imported potatoes from 
South America, and from these and their progeny he raised 
many seedlings. Among eight kinds received at one import- 
ation (probably, from Chili ) was a variety that he called the 
Rough Purple Chili. It ripened late in the season and was 
generally hollow, but it had flesh of fine texture and was free 
from rot. From seed saved from this, he raised the Garnet 
Chili, which was a popular variety for many years in New 
York state. The Garnet Chili was parent of the Early Rose 
and of Brazee's Prolific and other Brazee seedlings and, in- 
deed, of nearly all of the desirable varieties of Europe and 
America which have been prized for half a century. Although 
from some of his other importations he also raised a few very 
good sorts, yet the progeny of the Rough Purple Chili gave 
him the most valuable kinds. Among Goodrich's other 
seedlings were Gleason, Calico, Harrison and Early Good- 
rich. The latter was the parent of the Chicago Market. 

Mr. Goodrich is said to have raised about sixteen thousand 



182 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

seedling- potatoes from 1848 to 1864. Out of this larg-e num- 
ber, he found only about one in a thousand that he thought 
enough better than the old sorts to make it appear probable 
that they would be desirable for cultivation. The work that 
he did in this line has been of great value to Europe and 
America 

Soil and Manure. If given proper treatment, potatoes can be 
grown on soil of almost any composition, provided it is well 
drained, but a light, rich soil is best. The kind of soil to 
some extent affects the quality of the tubers; grown on sandy 
soil, they are generally of better table quality than on clay 
soils, and when grown on muck land the skin is generally 
dark colored and the flesh not mealy. New soil is most de- 
sirable, and in it the tubers are generally healthy; sod land 
is most excellent for this crop, but the "seed" should always 
be under the sod and not on top of it. If planted on the sod, 
the crop is very certain to be seriously injured in dry seasons. 
It is not generally advisable to manure the land the season of 
planting potatoes but preferably to apply it to some previous 
crop, but if manure is to be applied it should be well 
rotted. Raw stable manure is to be avoided, unless it can be 
applied a year in advance. In applying manure, it is very 
important not to use that from animals which have been fed 
on scabby potatoes, as such manure is liable to cause scabbi- 
ness in the crop. 

The Sets (Commonly Called "Seed.") The tubers for planting 
should be sound and not sprouted — though if sprouted they 
may do well; sprouting injures the vitality of the potatoes and 
is harmful. We should regard the potato much as we do a 
willow or other plant that grows freely from dormant cuttings 
if it has the right soil conditions, for it is truly a stem. Given 
good, sound seed potatoes for planting and good soil con- 
ditions, it matters little how the sets are cut, provided that 
every eye that grows is on a piece of potato large enough to 
nourish the young sprout until it has a good root system and 
enough expanded leaves to gather and digest its own 
fox>d. In practice the "sets" should have one, two or 
thi'ee eyes according to whether the tubers have few or many 
eyes. Varieties with few eyes, such as the Rural New Yorker 
No. 2, should be cut to about one eye to a piece, while those 



POTATO. 183 

having- many eyes should have two or three to each piece. 
Very small seed pieces will not give a full crop, and large 
pieces are desirable. The biggest crops are most likely to 
come from the planting of whole tubers, but such- sets general- 
ly give a larger proportion of small potatoes than cuttings 
made as recommended. The constant use of small tubers for 
sets undoubtedly causes varieties to "run out," and, although 
it is a practice that may be occasionally followed without 
serious results, it should be avoided if practicable. 

Varieties of potatoes seldom retain their pristine vigor and 
productiveness many years except in very favorable locations. 
On some land, even with the best of care, they are apt to "run 
out," and, as a rule, it is a good plan to occasionally get 
seed stock from locations very favorable to the best develop- 
ment of the potato or, at least, to change for seed potatoes 
grown on a different kind of land. 

In saving potatoes foir seed, it is desirable to select them 
in the field from hills having the largest number of market- 
able tubers, as there is then a tendency to fix this desirable 
quality. When selecting from the bin, take smooth, even, 
medium-sized potatoes ; the largest tubers will not neces- 
sarily give the largest yield. If planting is done on a small 
scale, it is probably more economical to cut them by hand. 
Some of the automatic feed machines leave a good many 
pieces without eyes, and on this account hand fed potato 
cutters are most desirable for general use, although where 
land is very cheap the automatic feed machines may some- 
times be the more economical. 

Early Planting. For early use, potatoes should be planted 
as soon as the ground is nicely settled. Light, sandy loam is 
best for this purpose. The tops are quite sensitive to frost, 
but, as they start slowly, they seldom get up until all danger 
from frost is passed. If when pushing out of the ground there 
is danger from frost, the tops are easily protected from it by 
covering them lightly with loose earth from between the rows, 
through which they soon push again. If frozen off when sev- 
eral inches high, the crop is generally seriously lessened, even 
though new sprouts take the place of those injured. For early 
crops, the ground should be plowed several times to expose it 
to the air and to warm it before planting. The sets should no^ 



184 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

be covered quite so deep as for the main crop, but in other par- 
ticulars the crop should be treated the same way. andthe quick- 
est maturing- kinds only should be planted. If the tubers for 
early sets are spread out in a light, warm room for three or 
four weeks before planting, healthy green sprouts will start 
from the eyes, and, if in cutting these sprouts are carefully 
handled so as not to break them off, the crop will be much 
earlier than if the sets were not thus started; they may also be 
started in a hotbed before or after being cut and afterwards 
transplanted to the open ground; but these methods are seldom 
practiced except in a very small way, although in some sec- 
tions they might be made profitable. 

Main Crop. For the main crop of potatoes, it is desirable 
to have the seed in the ground pretty early. It is customary 
in this section to plant from the middle of May to the first of 
June. When planted later, they are very liable to suffer ser- ' 
iously from drought, and earlier planting is more desirable. 
The results of many experiments show that the sets should be 
planted about four inches deep, at sixteen inch intervals, in 
rows three feet apart. This work may be done by furrowing 
out with the plow or horse hoe, planting by hand and cover- 
ing the sets with the plow, though when planted on a large 
scale the work is generally done by a potato planter. There 
are several excellent potato planters on the market. Some 
good growers prefer to plant the sets in check rows three feet 
apart each w^ay when the land is weedy, but so much space be- 
tween the plants is not generally desii-able, since under ordi- 
nary circumstances thorough harrowing when the crop is young' 
will destroy all weeds. If the sets are planted four inches 
deep, very little hilling up is required; if planted much deeper," 
the digging is quite difficult; if planted nearer the surface, the 
tubers are liable to push out of the ground and require to be 
hilled up, which is not desirable. The land should be har- 
rowed or thoroughly cultivated with a Breed's Weeder as soon 
as the smallest weeds can be seen or a crust forms on the land 
after planting. It is entirely practicable to harrow potatoes 
at least three times, the first time just before the plants showr 
the second when they are just above ground and the third when 
the plants are three or four inches high. Little if any harm 
will be done the plants by this work, provided a slanting tooth 



POTATO. 185 

harrow is used. Such treatment will do more to remove weeds 
than a good hand hoeing-, and the expense of the operation is 
almost nothing. If the work is properly done, there is no 
need of hand work. Subsequent cultivation should consist in 
keeping the soil loose between the rows, and a little earth should 
be thrown against the plants. For this purpose a good horse 
hoe will do excellent work, but a still better implement is a 
two horse cultivator that works both sides of the row at one- 
operation. It is not a good plan to hill up potatoes, and it 
should not be done unless they are pushing out of the ground, 
when they will turn green if not covered up. Cultivation should 
be thorough when the plants are young but is not desirable- 
after the tops have made most of their growth. 

Digging Potatoes. Early potatoes are generally dug as soon 
as they are big enough for cooking if there is a market for 
them; for winter use, it is very desirable to have the tubers 
well ripened, as if not ripe the skin will peel off when handled, 
and they do not look well. When potatoes are high in price, 
it may pay to dig them by hand, for which purpose four-tined 
garden forks are desirable; the best potato diggers, however, 
do as good work as can be done by hand, and are generally 
used by those who raise this crop on a large scale. When, 
potatoes are cheap, they should be dug with a potato digger 
or plowed out; though when plowed out some tubers will get 
covered up, most of these may be brought to the surface 
by the use of a straight tooth harrow. If the tubers are keep- 
ing well in the ground, it is a good plan to delay the digging 
until the cool weather of autumn, when they may be carried 
directly from the field to the cellar. If they are rotting in the 
ground or are "scabby." they should be dug at once, and if 
the cellar is cool they may be put at once into it, but, other- 
wise, it is a good plan to pit them in the field. 

Pitting in mild weather is done by putting the tubers into 
heaps and covering them with straw or hay and a few inches 
of loam. The straw should be allowed to stick out along the 
top of the heap as a ventilator, so as to allow the moisture to 
pass off. In the colder weather of late autumn, the covering, 
of course, should be heavier, and when the potatoes have 
ceased to sweat there is no need of a ventilator. In milder 
sections, potatoes are stored through the winter in such pits, 



186 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



but it is impracticable here. However, even in Minnesota, 
potatoes may be safely kept over winter in trenches or pits 
made below the ground, although a good cellar is a far more 
desirable place. For this purpose, the pit should not be 
large; a good size is four feet wide and deep and not more 
than six feet long. It should be filled heaping full with the 
potatoes and covered with six inches of straw and eighteen of 
soil. Ventilation is given until cold weather sets in and the 
potatoes are cooled off. The whole pit should then be covered 
with enough litter or manure ( generally about two feet ) to 
keep out the frost. Such pits can only be opened in mild weather. 
If this work is well done, the potatoes will be in fine condition 




Fig. 97.— Potatoes pitted for winter. 

in the spring, but beginners are very apt to fail of success in 
this method of storing, and they should attempt it only on a 
small scale. It is better to make several pits close together 
rather than one large one, since in a large one the potatoes 
are likely to sweat. Potatoes should always be kept in a cool, 
dark place. The sunlight should not be allowed to shine on 
them for any length of time, since it causes them to turn green 
and develops a poisonous substance in them. If kept in a 
cellar, the bins are improved by having slatted floors and 
sides, so that there may be some circulation of air through 
them to prevent heating at the bottom. The bins should not 
be large nor more than five feet deep. There is a great differ- 
ence in the keeping qualities of varieties; as a rule, the early 



POTATO. 



187 



kinds are hard to keep from sprouting, and the late kinds keep 
the best. 

Starch. When potatoes are low in price, they can be profit- 
ably worked into starch, but for this purpose starch factories 
must be nearby. Such factories are not expensive and should 
be more common in this section. 

The demand for potatoes seems destined to increase very 
much. There is a growing- demand each year from the Eastern 
and Southern states for Northwestern grown potatoes. Under 
ordinary cultivation in this section, they seldom yield more 




Fig. 98.— Six good varieties of early potatoes. 1.— Ohio Jr. 2.— Early 
OMo. 3.— Burpee's Extra Early. 4.— Early Harvest. 5.— Freeman. 6.— 
Good News. 

than 150 bushels per acre of marketable tubers, and the aver- 
age even in favorable years is probably not over 120 bushels 
per acre. There are, however, recorded yields here of 800 
bushels per acre, and they often yield over 400 bushels. 

Varieties. There is a very great difference in varieties, but 
many kinds closely resemble one another. There is quite a 
difference in the adaptability of varieties to soils. The large 
coarser kinds are good for starch but not desirable for table 
use. Most markets prefer a white or pink potato, rather long, 
oval in form and smooth, but the fashions change and vary 
considerably. Some of the varieties at present regarded with 
much favor are the following: 



188 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



Early Ohio. The most popular early kind and a good 
sort for the general crop, productive aad very early. 

BuRBANK, OR Burbank's SEEDLING, is an excellent late 
kind and a good keeper, but seems to be running out in some 
sections. It cooks a little soggy until winter, when it is of ex- 
cellent table quality. Form long and round. 

Rural New Yorker No. 2. Form flat, roundish oblong, 
very productive. Quality a little inferior and sometimes in- 
clined to be hollow. Very popular in some sections. It is 
undoubtedly much influenced by the soil on which it grows. 




Fig. 99.— Six good varieties of late potatoes. 1.— Rural New Yorker 
No. 2. :i.— American Wonder. 3.— Irish Cobbler, 4.~Worlds Fair. 5. — 
Woodbury White. 6.— Carman No. 1. 

Early Rose, is the progenitor of most of our good kinds. 
It was introduced into cultivation about 1868 and is still pro- 
ductive in the best potato districts of this section but is not 
now adapted to general use. 

Other varieties of special merit of theearly kinds are Early 
Acme and Vaughan; of medium and late kinds are American 
Wonder, White Prolific, Maggie Murphy and Delaware. 

Note on Propagation. New varieties of potatoes are gen- 
erally high in price, and it is desirable to increase 
them rapidly. This may be done as follows: Place 
the tubers in rich soil in a box or in pots, without cut- 
ting them, in a warm, light room, hotbed or greenhouse. As 
soon as the sprouts are nicely furnished with roots, break 
them off at the surface of the potato below the roots and plant 



POTATO. 189 

in pots. New sprouts will start from the eyes again, and the 
process may be repeated until the tuber is exhausted. By an- 
other way, the tubers are cut up and planted in g-ood rich 
loam. As soon as the shoots are six inches or more high, 
about three inches is cut off the top of each. These pieces are 
put in moist sand, watered frequently and allowed all the sun- 
light they will stand without wilting and treated the same as 
it is common to treat cuttings of house plants. In three or 
four weeks, they will be rooted and maybe potted in rich soil. 
These shoots may again be cut when nicely started, and so on. 
The plants thus grown are planted out when the weather is 
settled in the spring. For best success with these methods of 
propagation, the work should begin in the late winter or very 
early spring. 

Insects. There are but few insects that do serious injury 
to the potato in this section, and the most important of these 
is the Colorado potato beetle, or "potato-bug," but it may 
also be injured by blister beetles, wire worms and white grubs. 
(For remedies for these pests, see chapter on insects.) 

Diseases. There are several diseases that sometimes injure 
the potato. The most common of these are known as the scab 
and the blight. Scab is a term used to refer to the rough 
patches with which potatoes are frequently covered. Potatoes 
so infected are lessened in yield, and on account of being un- 
sightly and rough do not sell readily. The term blight refers 
to a disease that kills the tops. 

Scab of Potatoes is caused by a fungous plant working in 
the surface of the potato. The germs of it are very abundant 
and live for many years in the soil and also over winter on 
•the potatoes. If these germs are fed to stock, they undoubted- 
ly grow in the manure, and the use of such manure may often 
be the cause of infection. Also, they may be spread in the 
soil by natural drainage, and land receiving the drainage 
•from infested fields may become infested with the disease with- 
out ever having potatoes on them. Scabby seed jDotatoes 
when planted on new or old potato land will generally pro- 
duce a scabby crop, but the amount of the disease will gener- 
ally be much more on the old land than on the new. 

Perfectly clean seed potatoes planted on land which is free 
from the scab fungus will always and in any season produce 



190 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



a crop of smooth, clean potatoes, no matter what may be the 
character of the soil; but apparently clean seed potatoes may 
have the germs of the scab fungus on their surface. This is 
often the case where they have been sorted out from a lot 
that is somewhat infected with scab. In this latter case the 
tubers should, at least, be thoroughly washed in runnings 
water to remove any germs that may be present or, what is 
better yet, be treated with corrosive sublimate {mercuric bichlor- 
ide ) as recommended below. 

Land infected by the germs of potato scab will produce a 




Treated. Fig. 100.— Potato Scab. Not treated. 

Both plates grown from the same lot of scabby seed. 

more or less scabby crop, no matter how clean and smooth the 

seed used. 

Scabby potatoes should be dug as soon as mature, since 
the scab fungus continues to grow on the potatoes as long as 
they are in the ground. 

Scabby potatoes may safely be used for seed, providing 
they are first treated with corrosive sublimate as follows: 
Procure from a druggist two ounces of powdered corrosive 
sublimate [mercuric bichloride); put this into two gallons of hot 
water in a wooden or earthenware vessel and allow it to stand 
until dissolved. Place thirteen gallons of water in a clean 
barrel, pour in the solution of corrosive sublimate and allow 
it to stand two or three hours, with frequent stirrings in order 
to have the solution uniform. Select potatoes as nearly free 



POTATO. 191 

from scab as can be obtained; put the seed potatoes into 
bags, either before or after cutting them and then dip them in- 
to the corrosive sublimate solution and allow them to 
stay in it for an hour and a half. If seed potatoes are treated 
in this way and then planted on land free from scab, the re. 
sultant crop will seldom be seriously injured, by scab. The 
expense of this treatment including- labor should not exceed 
one dollar per acre. 

Blight of potatoes is a disease which attacks the leaves and 
stems of potatoes, and sometimes even the tubers are affected. 
It is most prevalent during moist, warm weather, when some- 
times the fungus may be seen as a delicate white mildew on the 
stems and leaves of the potato vines. In seasons favorable to 
it, the tops of an entire field may be killed in a few days from 
the time the disease was first noticed; at other times, the tops 
die so gradually it is mistaken for a natural dying of the 
vines. Rotting of the tubers often follows the dying of the tops. 
It has been quite clearly shown that this disease may be kept 
in check, or the trouble entirely prevented, by spraying the 
tops with the Bordeaux mixture occasionally. It is, however, 
somewhat doubtful about the benefits being sufficiently certain 
in this sectionto justify the expense; but should this disease be- 
come more abundant it may prove to be a paying operation. 
The cost of treating one acre with the Bordeaux mixture is 
about $5.00. There is little use of applying this material 
after the damage from the disease is apparent, as it must be 
used as a preventive. 

Bordeaux Mixture is made as follows: Dissolve five pounds 
of blue vitriol ( sulphate of copper ) in a wooden or earthen- 
ware vessel. As this substance dissolves very slowly in cold 
water and solutions of it are very heavy, it is well to suspend 
it near the top of the water. ( It dissolves more quickly 
in hot water.) In another vessel, slake five pounds of good 
fresh quicklime in ten gallons of water. When the mixture is 
wanted, pour the blue vitriol into a barrel containing thirty- 
five gallons of water and then add the lime. When thoroughly 
stirred, the color of the mixture should be a clear sky blue. 
After being mixed for a day or so the mixture loses much of its 
strength, so it is well to use a supply that has been mixed 
only a short time previously. There are many formulas 



192 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 




Fig. lui.— inierniU brown 
potato. 



usedjWhich vary as to the amount of lime and water, but the 
above gives good satisfaction when used properly. 

Internal brown rot is the name given to a disease which has 
recently appeared in a few potato growing sections in this 
country. It is first noticed by the darkening of the starchy 
portion of the tubers, which may become very much discolored 

without any manifestation of 
its presence on the outside; 
later on the potato rots. The 
life history of this disease is 
not known, nor are any reme- 
dies known for it. Ordinary 
prudence, however, would in- 
dicate that seed potatoes in 
the least affected with this trouble should not be planted. 
SWEET POTATO. {Iimmrjea batatas.) 
Native of South America. — Perennial but cultivated as an 
annual.— It is a near relative of the morning glory and 
scarcely resembles the 
common potato in any 
particular. It probably 
cannot be profitably 
raised in the extreme 
Noi'thern states, but may 
be grown in a small 
way in warm, sandy soil 
as far north as Minne- 
sota and will produce 
even there very large tu- 
bers. The plant never 
flowers at the North 
and is never cultivated 
from seed. 

Culture. The sweet po- 
tato is raised from 
sprouts, which are pro- 
duced abundantly if the 
tubers are planted in a 
hotbed in the early spt'ing 
the tubers and are planted out after the soil has become warm. 




Fig. 102.— Sweet potatoes and piece of vine. 
The sprouts are carefully pulled from 



PUMPKINS. 193 

They should be set two feet apart, in rows four feet apart. 
They need considerable care until started, after which they re- 
quire good cultivation only and are easily grown. The vines 
spread on the ground and have a tendency to root at the 
joints, which should be discouraged by moving them at every 
hoeing. They are very susceptible to cold weather and should 
be pulled as soon as the tops are frosted. There are many 
cultivated varieties in the south. For the northern states, 
Early Carolina is perhaps the best. 

PUMPKIN. ( Cucu rhita Pepo. ) 

Native of warm climates. — Annual. — Under the name of 
pumpkin are grouped a number of gourds, greatly varying in 
shape, color, size and quality. Some of them are very good 
for cooking purposes, but they are not generally esteemed for 

table use by those who have 
become accustomed to the 
better kinds of squashes; 
some of them are great 
yielders and are used for 
feeding cattle. They may 
be grown as i*ecommended 
for squash or. as is most 
Fig. 103.— Cheese pumpkin. commonly practiced, grown 

amongst the corn, where the seed is planted as soon as warm 
weather is assured. The seed varies much in size. For re- 
marks on its flow^ers and pollination see squash with which 
they are nearly identical. 

The Variety most generally grown is known as Connecti- 
cut Field, which is of large size and used mainly for feeding 
stock. Sugar and Cheese pumpkins are varieties much grown 
for cooking. 

RADISHES. ( Baphanus sativus. ) 

Probably a native of Asia. — Annual or, in the case of the 
winter radish, biennial. — The flower stalks are branched, 
about three feet high and have white or lilac-colored flowers, 
but never yellow. The seed is roundish or oval but somewhat 
flattened, much larger than cabbage or turnip seed, and much 
more variable in size. Some recent exiDeriments show that 




194. 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



the large radish seeds g-erminate more quickly and with more 
certainty and produce marketable roots sooner and more uni- 
formly than small seed. 

Culture. The radish is a vegetable of very easy culture. 
The roots of some kinds reach edible size in three weeks when 

grown under the 
best conditions 
and are a favorite 
in the early spring-. 
It is a common 
practice to sow the 
seed of early kinds 
*in hotbedsbetween 
rows of lettuce and 
outdoors between, 
or in the rows of 
beets, carrots, par- 
snips, etc. They 
will g-rowin almost 
any soil, but new 
land is best. The 
seed may be sown as 
soon as the ground 
can be worked in 
the spring and suc- 
Figr. 104.— White Strasburg radishes. C e S S i v e SOW ings 

should then be made every two weeks. 

Winter radishes are grown and stored in the same manner 
and fully as easily, as turnips. The seed is sown in June or 
July, and the roots gathered in autumn and stored in the 
cellar or pitted outdoors. They keep very well. Winter 
radishes closely resemble the early kinds in quality, but are 
firmer in texture. The cabbage flea beetle affects the young- 
radish plants in the late spring- and summer. ( See chapter on 
insects for remedies.) The roots are sometimes infested with 
maggots, but these are seldom troublesome except where fresh 
manure is used or in land where radishes have been grown for 
several years. It is best not to manure the land for radishes 
but use rich soil that has been put in good order by some 
other crop. 




RHUBARB. 



195 



Varieties. There are many kinds, differino- from each other 
color form, size, time of maturity and taste. They are 

generally divided into 
early, or forcing varie- 
ties: summer and au- 
tumn varieties and 
^ ^^^. ^ winter kinds. A few of 

^"^^"^^^^^^^ vS^^%^ ' '-^ each are here mentioned. 
I.. '^ .^m)iJmmi,^h\ French Breakfast. 

One of the best very ear- 
ly radishes for the mar- 
ket. It remains in good 
condition for only a 
short time after becom- 
ing edible: hence, is not 
so desirable for the 
Fig. 105.— French breakfast radishes. home garden. 

Early White Tipped Scarlet Turnip Shaped.— A 
handsome, round, early, popular radish, maturing very 
quickly. 

Early Deep Scarlet. Very early, round and of deep 
scarlet color. 

Long Scarlet Short Top. A well known desirable 
early kind having long scarlet roots. 

White Strasburg. One of the finest half long kinds for 
summer use. Grows to good size: white and tender. 

Rose. The most popular of the winter sorts. Skin pink. 

Black Spanish. Skin very black, flesh white, firm, ten- 
der but very pungent. A good winter sort. 




RHUBARB OR PIE PLANT. {Bheum Bhapontkum.) 

The cultivated varieties of rhubarb are generally supposed 
to have come from Mongolia, though it is quite possible that 
some varieties may have sprung from a North American 
species. The plant is an herbaceous perennial whose leaf 
stalks are used for sauce, pies, etc. It sends up a flower 
stalk often four feet high, and produces a large amount of 
seed each year. It is perfectly hardy in gardens, even in very 
severe situations and when once planted continues to yield a 



196 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 




bundant crops formally years. The seeds are large and tri- 
ang-ular. 

Culture. Rhubarb is readily inci-eased from the seed, 
which germinates quickly. Seedlings vary considerably 

but not enough to prevent 
this method of propaga- 
tion from being the one 
most commonly practiced. 
They attain good trans- 
planting size in one year. 
It is customary to sow the 
seed in. rows three feet 
apart, early in the spring, 
and set out the plants when 
one year old where they 
are to grow; the plants 
may also be thinned out 
and a few allowed to re- 
main where the seeds are 
sown. When it is desired to 
propagate the specially 
valuable qualities of individual plants, it is done by dividing 
the roots, using care to take at least one good bud with each 
piece of root. This is the only sure way of getting the best 
plants. 

It is preferable to set the plants out in the fall where they 
are to grow, but spring planting is often followed. They 
should be set in the richest of land four feet apart each way. 
The stalks should not be pulled until the spring of the second 
year and then only to a small extent; the third year they 
should give a good crop. The only culture needed is to keep 
the ground free from weeds and loose, and to use plenty of 
manure. In gathering rhubarb, the stalks should be removed 
from the crown by a jerk downward and sideways, and care 
should be taken not to be so rough about it as to pull the buds 
from the crown at the same time. There is little danger of 
pulling more leaves than the plant can stand without injury, 
but in the case of a young plantation it would not be well to 
remove more than one-half of the leaves at any one time. The 
stalks are most in demand early in the spring, but there is 



Fig. 106. —Rhubarb plant in flower 



RHUBARB. 1 97 

more or less call for them all summer. The seed stalks should 
be cut off as soon as they appear, so as to throw their strength 
into the leaves and to prevent the formation of seed, if the 
largest amount of stalks is needed. 

Forcing Rhubarb. For winter and spring use rhubarb is 
often forced in greenhouses and cold frames. The roots of 
any age are taken up in autumn, crowded together under the 
benches in greenhouses or placed in boxes or barrels with a 
. little soil between them, and put in any convenient place in 
the greenhouse or a w^arm light room or cellar where they 
start into growth by February. Still another way of forcing 
rhubarb in the spring is by putting a cold frame over the 




Fig. 107.— Pieces of rhubarb roots cut off for planting out. 
plants where they grow in the open ground. This method may 
be improved by heavily mulching the plants so as to keep out 
the frost in winter. The roots are sometimes lifted in autumn, 
planted close together in a deep cold frame and covered with 
leaves to keep out frost. In March the leaves are removed, 
and the sashes put on. This method has the advantage of 
using the sashes to the best advantage, but roots that are dug 
and then forced are worthless for further planting. In order 
to increase the length of the stalks, it is a common practice 
where but a small amount is grown to put headless barrels 
over each plant in the spring w^hen the leaves are starting into 
growth, and in striving to reach the light the leaf stalks 



198 VEGETABLE GARDENINCt. 

naturally grow long- and tender. An old sash laid over the 
bai'rel is an improvement on this method. 

Varieties. There are several varieties but the following- 
kinds are the most highly esteemed: 

Myatt's Linneus. An early sort having deep green 
stalks and attaining to a large size. 

Myatt's Victoria. A much later kind than the preced- 
ing. Stalks red. very thick and large. 

SALSIFY, or VEGETABLE OYSTER. [Tragopogon por- 
rifolius. ) 

Native of Europe.— Biennial. — A plant .with long fleshy 
tap-root and grass-like leaves. 
The flower stalks grow three 
feet high: the seed is long, 
ridged, generally curved and 
pointed at both ends. It is rath- 
er difficult to plant with a seed 
sower because of its peculiar 
form, but w^hen thoroughly 
cleaned it is often so planted. 

Culture. The cultural direc- 
tions given for the parsnip ap- 
ply to this plant. It is very ea- 
sily grown and hardy, and 
generally comes through the 
winter in ths extreme northern 
states without injury; it is safer, 
however, to dig the roots in 
autumn and put in pits until 
spring or for use during winter. 
The root is highly esteemed and 
has the flavor of oysters: it 
is used for soups but may be 
cooked in the same manner as 
parsnips. 

The best variety is the Mam- 
moth Sandwich Island, which 
Fig. 108. -Sandwich Island salsify, is far superior to any other. 




SQUASH. 

SQUASH. [Cucurhita. 



199 



The term squash does not signify any botanical division, 
but is an American name that is applied to a large number of 
varieties of gourds which in common parlance have come to 
be classified separately. The term often includes what are 
sometimes called pumpkins. 

Pollenizing the flowers. The flowers resemble those of the cu- 
cumber and melon, being separate on the same vine. The 
pistillate flower is produced at the end of the miniature 




Fig. 109.— Flowers of the squash. To the left two stammate (male)flowers: 
to the right two pistillate (female) flowers. 

squash: the staminate flower is often called the "false blos- 
som," and its office is to produce pollen only. They are 
naturally pollenized by insects. 

( The crop is made more certain by having bees near by to 
pollenize the flowers. In some places, the absence of many in- 
sects is the reason why cucumbers, melons and squashes, which 



200 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

are similar in the construction of their flowers, fail to produce 
much fruit, thoug-h the vines may g-row freely. This is a com- 
mon complaint in some new prairie sections, as there is often 
quite an absence of insects in such cases. Where the small 
cucumbers, squashes or melons fall off and fail to mature, this 
matter of pollenization should be closely looked into, and if 
insects are not present the work can be quickly and easily 
done by hand. For this purpose a rather large camel's hair 
brush is used which can be filled at one time with enough pol- 
len from a few male flowers to polle'nize twenty or more female 
flowers. 

The seed is oval and flat but varies greatly in size. There 
is a common belief among gardeners that vines from old seed 
do not grow so strong as those from new seed and produce 
more fruit. This seems to be borne out by some experiments. 

Cultivation. The cultivation of the squash and the pumpkin 
is much the same as for cucumbers. About six sseds should 
be put in each hill. These should be eight feet apart each way 
for the longer growing kinds and five feet apart for the bush 
sorts. The plants should be thinned out after they are estab- 
lished, so as to allow two plants to each hill. They are af- 
fected by the same insect pests as the cucumber and the same 
remedies are in order. In .addition, however, to these, some 
kinds are afl:ected in the eastern states by a borer which 
works in the stem and by the squash bug. ( See chapter on 
insects. ) 

The early varieties of the squash are sometimes started 
in hotbeds or cold frames to advance them and thus avoid 
serious injury from the striped beetle. 

Harvesting. Summer squash are not grown for storing and 
are not desirable except before the skin hardens, when they 
are used entire. Winter squash are excellent for use in a 
green state but are not gathered for storing until the skin is 
hard. They should always be gathered upon the approach of 
frosty weather, as a very little frost injures their keeping 
qualities, although the injury may not be apparent when 
gathered. It is a good plan to place them in piles in the 
field, leaving them exposed to the sun during the day and cov- 
ering them with the vines or other material every frosty night 
until they are thoroughly dried and the skins have become 



SQUASH. 201 

hard and flinty. In g-atherino-, cut the stem off not over an 
inch from the sqiiasli, for if the stem is left on it is liable to 
be used as a handle and to be broken off and thus leave a 
spot that is very sure to start to rotting. Squashes should be 
handled with the greatest care if they are to be kept success- 
fully: each one should be placed in the wagon or on the shelf 
separately; if handled roughly, they will not keep. They 
should be carried in a spring wagon or on a bed of hay or 
straw. 

Storing. Winter squash keep best in a dry atmosphere 
and at a cool temperature. They will, however, keep well in 
a warm or even hot cellar or room, providing it is dry, but 
quickly rot in a moist atmosphere. They will shrink more in 
weight in a warm than in a cool place. They should be laid 
on shelves one tier deep, and never piled up if it is desired to 
keep them long. When well hardened without exposure to 
frost before storing and kept dry, the winter sorts are easily 
kept until March. 

The quality of squash varies somewhat according to the 
land on which it is grown. Sandy loam is generally be 
lieved to produce the best flavored dry flesh squash. 

Summer Varieties. iCucurbita jjcjxj.) Summer Crookneck 
is a summer sort, generally with a crooked neck, that is highly 




Fig. no.— Varieties of summer squashes. 
Crookneck. Boston Marrow. Scalloped. 

esteemed. A form of this without the crooked neck is also 
grown. 

Bush Scalloped. Yellow and white varieties of this for 
summer use are much grown by market gardeners, differing 



202 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

only in color of the skin. They are round-flat and leave a 
scalloped edg-e. 

Fall and Winter Varieties. {Cucurhita maxima.) Hubbard. 
This is the best known, and most largely grown of the winter 
varieties. It varies somewhat in form, is generally dark 
green in color and sometimes marked with red. When well 
grown it has a rough shell of flinty hardness, thick, heavy 
flesh and cooks dry. The quality varies much according to 
the land on which it is grown, sandy loam generally produc- 
ing the best. 

Marblehead. Resembles the Hubbard in quality of 
flesh, and by many is considered superior. It difl'ers from 




Fig. 111.— Hubbard squash. 

the Hubbard in form and color of the skin, which is ashy 
gray, and the flesh is much thinner. It yields less in weight 
but generally produces more squashes per acre. 

ESSFJC Hybrid. Vei'y fine grained, rich, sweet and a good 
keeper; excellent. 

Bay State. A good variety. 

Boston Marrow. Much grown for marketing and very 
highly esteemed for summer and fall use. 

Orange Marrow. A form of the Boston Marrow. 

Miscellaneous Varieties. Winter Crookneck. One of the 
hardiest, most reliable and best keeping squashes, but in 



SPINACH. 



203 



quality no better than some of the immpkins. Very little in 
demand for marketing, but popular in some sections for 
home use. 

CocoANUT, Perfect Gem and Chestnut are varieties 
producing- a large number of small squashes of excellent 
quality and very easily raised. 




SPINACH. ( Simiada oleracea. ) 

Properly a native of Western Asia. — An annual plant cul- 
tivated for its leaves, which form a popular spring and early 
summer vegetable. It has a seed stalk about two feet high. 
The varieties are divided according to their seeds into round 

and prickly-seeded 
sorts. The latter have 
sharp, hard prickles on 
the seeds. This division 
is so pronounced that 
some botanists have 
treated these classes as 
distinct species. The 
prickly-seeded sorts are 
considered the hardiest, 
while among the round- 
seeded kinds are per- 
haps the most desirable 
varieties for table use, but this difference is not always very 
clear. 

Culture. The seed of spinach may be sown in hotbeds or 
cold frames very early in the spring or outdoors as soon as 
the ground can be worked. It is of the easiest culture. A 
supply may be had during the whole growing season by mak- 
ing a succession of sowings at intervals of about two weeks. 
Under good conditions it will be ready for table use six weeks 
from the time of sowing the seed. In planting it outdoors 
the rows should be about twelve inches apart. The seed 
should be covered about one inch deep, and about forty seeds 
or more sown to the foot of row. It is w^ell to use plenty of 
seed, and since it often starts poorly in dry weather extra 
precautious are taken when sowing it at that time. The plants 
may be thinned out when too thick, and, no matter how small, 



Fig. 112. Spinach. 



204 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

they are a g-ood vegetable. Spinach is often sown in the 
spring between early peas, cabbage, potatoes or other slow 
growing crops. For earliest spring use, seed of the hardiest, 
kinds should be sown in this section the latter part of August. 
The plants should grow well and attain a good size during- 
the cool weather of autumn, and on the approach of winter 
they should be covered with about two inches of straw, hay 
or similar material. When thus treated the crop generally 
comes through the winter in this section without injury and 
after making a little growth in the spring is marketable. It. 
is harvested by cutting the plants off at the top of the ground. 
For this purpose a short push hoe is run under the plants. 
They are then freed from dead leaves and ^fter being washed 
are ready for marketing. Spinach requires a very rich soil 
and plenty of well rotted manure. To secure the best results 
from early spring sowings, it will pay those raising it for mar- 
ket, to use nitrate of soda on the land in small quantities, say, 
two applications at the rate of seventy-five pounds per acre at 
intervals of two weeks after the crop has started. This ma- 
terial has a wonderful effect on early leaf crops. Whore 
nitrate of soda is not used, hen manure is very desirable. 
The effect of nitrate of soda in this crop is very marked and 
often results in more than doubling its size. Spinach gener- 
ally is very free from insects and fungous diseases. 

Varieties. There are a number of varieties of spinach dif- 
fering in earliness, hardiness and in the time they remain in 
edible condition, as well as in many minor matters. Among 
the best are the following: 

Long Standing. An excellent sort for spring and sum- 
mer sowing, since it stands longer than any other sort before 
going to seed. 

Prickly, or Winter. A prickly seeded variety that is very 
popular. It will Withstand very severe weather without seri- 
ous injury if lightly protected by hay or straw and is, prob- 
ably, the best sort for autumn planting in this section. 

Bloomsdale. a fine, hardy sort with long, curled 
leaves of excellent quality. Very hardy. 

TOMATO. [Li/coperskum esculentum.) 
Native of South America. — Perennial, but generally treated 



TOMATOES. 205 

as an annual. — The tomato is a branching plant, generally 
with flexible stems that require support to grow erect. Its 
flowers are yellowish and g-^ow in clusters on the stem, oppo- 
site or nearly opposite leaves, not axillary; fruit, a true 
berry: seed kidney-shaped, flat, with a roughened surface. In 
many parts of this section, the tomato can be successfully 
grown as a market crop, and there is no place where it cannot 
l3e grown in sufficient quantities for home use. The cultiva- 
tion of this vegetable for canning purposes is already occu- 
pying the attention of farmers in a few localities in this section, 
and it is an industry that is destined to greatly increase in the 
future. It is one of the easiest and surest crops to grow, pro- 
viding one has good plants to start with. 

Growing the Plants. It is especially important to sow the 
seed before the first of April, and the middleof March isthought 
about the right time by most growers. The seed grows easily 
Taut needs considerable heat and rich soil to do its best. The 
plants should be "pricked"' out after they have their second 
leaves and be transplanted as often as they get crowded, so 
they may become stout and strong. Hotbeds may be used for 
this purpose or the seed started in greenhouses: it is also 
easily grown in window-boxes. If too close together, they 
grow weak and poor. It is very important that the plants 
should be well hardened oft" before they are set in the open 
ground. 

The land jDreferred for tomatoes is a rich, retentive sandy 
loam, but they will do fairly well on almost any well drained 
soil, and even if on rather poor soil will do better than most 
crops. A southern slope is preferable, but they will ripen al- 
most anywhere if properly managed. The tomato preemi- 
nently needs a warm place, and if rich manure is plowed into 
the soil it is beneficial, since by its fermentation it raises the 
temperature of the land. 

Transplanting and After-cultivation. The plants should be 
moved to the open ground as soon as all danger of severe frost 
is past, which will generally be about the twentieth of May in 
southern Minnesota and not until the first of June in more 
northern sections. They should be set about five feet apart 
each way and about six inches deep. If the stems of the plants 
when i)lanted out are very long, they should be partly buried 



206 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



under ground. They need thorouo-h cultivation, which can be 
best given by a horse cultivator. 

Pruning and Training. Tomato plants undei* field cultivation 
are generally allowed to run over the ground in any direction 
and are not trained: but even under this method of manage- 
ment it is a good plan to cut off a foot or more of the ends of 
all growing shoots about the middle of August, so that all the 
strength of the plant may go to ripen the fruit that is well 
formed and still green. Some growers advise pruning off" all 

but one main stem and 
„.._..,„, two or three laterals 
and training to a stake 
and* then pinching off 
all flower clusters after 
a few have set fruit. 
The result of this prac- 
tice here is still some- 
what doubtful. It is a 
good plan in a small 
garden to cover the 
land under the vines af- 
ter they set fruit with a 
little hay, so that the 
fruit may be kept from 
getting dirty in case 
they are not trained. 
This covering should 
not be heavy enough to 
keep the ground from 

Fig.113.— Tomato plant growing in a barrel and g'^^^i^^ plenty of sun- 
trained against side of building. light. 

Tomatoes in very Severe Locations. When there is danger of 
frost in August, a sufficient supply of tomatoes for family 
use may be grown on the south side of a house, wall or other 
protection, especially if the plants are covered on cold nights. 
Where this seems to be impracticable, a most excellent way is 
to grow a few plants in barrels placed in warm corners about 
the buildings. To do this, at planting time select a barrel as 
large as a coal oil barrel, bore three or four holes in the 
bottom, sink the barrel about one-third its depth in the 








TOAIATOES. 



207 



ground and pack the earth around it. Fill it about half full 
of fresh horse manure well tramped down and pour a bucket- 
ful of hot water on this manure. Then put on eight inches of 
good soil and then a mixture of well-rotted manure and rich 
black loam in about equal quantities, until you reach within 
about twelve inches of the top of the barrel; then heap up 
manure around the outside. Set three plants in this and trim 
to two shoots each. Train one of these shoots from each 
plant to stakes or , near-by building, but allow the other three 
.shoots to grow naturally over the sides of the barrel. Be 
careful to give plenty of water daily — a gallon each day will 








Fig. 114.— Varieties of tomatoes. 1.— Dwarf Champion. 2.~New Imperial. 
3.— Thorburn. 4.— Virginia Corlver. .5.— Landreth"s 110 days. 6. — 
Landreths 9.5 days. 7.— Landreth"s 100 days. 8.— Landreth's 105 
days. 9.— Landreth's 11.5 days. 10.— Waldorf. 11.— Landreth's 105 
days 12.— Fordhook First. 13.— Early "Wilcox. 14.— Clover Crest 
Giant. 

be none to much. Three or four old barrels treated in this 
way and placed in sunny exposures will produce all the toma- 
toes needed by a family of four or five persons. 

Prolonging the Tomato Season. In autumn the tomato season 
may be prolonged by pulling the plants with the unripened 
fruit on them and hanging them in a shed, where they will 
continue to ripen fruit for some time. The larger tomatoes 
will ripen very well if picked off and kept in a shady place. 

Saving Tomato Seed. Tomato seed should be saved from 



208 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



the best tomatoes from vines producing the largest amount of 
good fruit. The tomatoes should be thrown into a barrel as 
fast as they ripen and be allowed to ferment until the seed 
separates readily from the pulp, when they should be put into 
water and thoroughly stirred. The skin and pulp being- 
lighter, the seed is readily separated from it. The seed should 
be dried at once by spreading it out thinly in a dry place. 

Varieties. There are many varieties of tomatoes adapted 
to general cultivation. Among the best of these are Acme 
and Dwarf Champion, which are early, smooth kinds having 




Fig. 115.— Tomato Rot. 

a pink skin. Of the red-skinned sorts Perfection and Beauty 
are very good. The earliest varieties are not always the 
best to grow for a general crop, as they are uneven and in- 
ferior to the varieties mentioned. However, in many unfav- 
orable locations, it may be best to grow them, as they do 
very well for home use. Of these the earliest is called Earliest 
of All, but there are several other very early kinds. 

Insects. The tomato is subject to few insect pests. It is 
sometimes attacked by the potato beetle when potato 
vines are not convenient for them. The remedy is Paris 
green and water, as recommended for the same insect when it 
attacks the potato. 

Tomato Rot. There are several diseases that attack the to- 



STRAWBERRY TOMATO. 



209 



mato when grown in g-reenhouses, but only that known as the 
"rot" is often seriously injurious to plants grown in the open 
field. This is a fung-ous disease. The g-erms of this fungus 
lodge in the end of the fruit when it is very small, probably 
often just as the flowers fall off. By their growth, they rot 
the end of the tomato and often cause much havoc. 

Remedies. The disease lives over winter in the ground 
where the rotten tomatoes have fallen. The diseased fruit 
should therefore be gathered and burned or buried a foot or 
more deep, where they will not be disturbed in the spring. 
Some varieties are much more liable to rot than others. The 
Dwarf Champion is perhaps less affected than many other 
kinds. Experiments in spraying the young fruit with Bor- 
deaux mixture, or a solution of sulphide of potassium at the 
rate of one-half ounce per gallon, are said to have given good 
results in some cases, but it is generally considered imprac- 
ticable to do this. They are less liable to rot when gro wing- 
on new land than on land that has been used for several 
years in tomatoes. 

GROUND CHERRY, or STRAWBERRY TOMATO. ( Phys- 

alis sj). ) 
Native of North and South Am- 
erica — Perennial. — There are several 
species of Physalis that produce 
edible fruit. Among those indigen- 
ous to northern United States is 
one quite common in old timber land 
in northern Minnesota and elsewhere. 
The fruit resembles a tomato but is 
about the size of a cherry and is en- 
closed in a calyx, which forms a 
husk around it. The seed is dark col- 
ored, flat and round. The fruit is 
used for preserves and sauces. 

Culture. It is of the easiest cul- 
ture and when once sown generally 
covers the ground in following years 
from self sown seed. The seed should 
be planted about the first of May, 

The plants spread about thirty inches. 




Fig. 116. — Ground Cherry or 
Strawberry Tomato. 



210 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



TURNIP {Brassica Ncqms.) and RUTABAGA, or SWEDISH 
TURNIP [Brassica campestris. ) 

Natives of Europe or Asia.^ — Biennials. — Cultivated for 
their swollen, fleshy roots. The varieties of turnip and ruta- 
baga vary much in form, size and color of the skin, and the 
flesh is white or yellow, pungent or slightly acid. There is 
more dilTerence in the varieties of the turnip than of the ruta- 
baga. The flower stalks are produced the second year and 

bear a large num- 
ber of yellow flow- 
ers. The seeds 
are smooth and 
round like the 
seed of the cab- 
bage and cauli- 
flower and in 
similar shaped 
pods. 

Turnip. The tur- 
nip is essentially 
a cool weather 
plant and does 
best when most of 
its growth is made 
during the autumn. It is grown to some extent in the spring, 
but there is very little call for it until cool weather. 

Culture. The turnip needs to be grown very rapidly to 
have the best quality. The best soil for it is a friable rich 
sandy loam free from fresh manure: sod land that has been 
recently broken up is excellent for this purpose, but on old 
land, i. e., that which has-been cultivated for several years, 
or where there is fresh manure, the roots are often wormy. 
When grown for early use some quick maturing kind should 
be planted as early in the spring as the soil can be worked, 
in rows fifteen inches apart. The seed should be sown rather 
thickly and the seedlings thinned out two or three inches 
apart after all danger from the flea beetle has passed. (This 
insect is the same as that which attacks the cabbage. ) Tur- 
nips grown for late use generally come in as a second crop 
after grain, strawberries, early potatoes, cabbage or other 




Fig. 117.— White strap leaved turnips. 



RUTABAGAS. 



211 



crop that is off the land by the first of August, since after 
this time a g'ood crop of many varieties of late turnips will 
mature before winter, though some of the larg-e kinds need to 
be sown earlier in the season. The seed is sometimes sown 
broadcast just before a shower or else it is harrowed in. It 
is also grown in rows about two feet apart and cultivated 
by a horse cultivator, or the rows may be put nearer to- 
gether and a hand cultivator used. 

Varieties. Some of the best varieties of turnips are: 
Early Flat andExtra Early Milan for early use, Red Top Strap 
Leaf and White Egg or White Globe for autumn use. 

Rutabagas are grown in the same manner as the common 
turnips but require about four weeks longer to attain edible 
size and, on this account, should be planted by the middle of 

.June or first of July. 
They ai-e generally grown 
in rows thirty inches 
apart and cultivated with 
a horse hoe. Rutabagas 
are sometimes grown in 
beds and transplanted. 
This is not done with tur- 
nips. 

The seed of both tur- 
nips and rutabagas is so 
smooth and fine that it is 
generally sown too thick. 
Mixing the seed with flour 
is a good way to prevent its running too rapidly through 
the seed sower. The crop should be allowed to stay in the 
ground until the approach of severe cold weather. They will 
stand some little freezing without injury, but will not live in 
the land over winter. They should be stored in frost proof 
pit or cellars. In dry cellars they should be covered with a 
few inches of sand or other material to prevent wilting. ( See 
directions for keeping carrots. ) 

Varieties. Improved Purple Top Swede, and White 
Rock, are both excellent varieties of rutabagas. 




Fig. 118.— Rutabagas. 



MONTHLY CALENDAR. 

Under this head some of the principal operations of the 
year in the more northern states are referred to, but these can 
be reg-arded only as sug-g-estive, since individual conditions 
as well as the weather vary from year to year. The point 
should be borne in mind that it is of the utmost importance, 
and for the greatest profit, to have all garden work done at 
the proper time; and to do this considerable planning- and 
studying- will be necessary in laying- out eaeh day's work, as 
well as the work of the season, so as to make the most of the 
opportunities offered by weather and season. 

January. The outdoor work is g-enerally quite at a stand- 
still this month, except that manure may be drawn from the 
stable to the fields needing it, where it may be piled and 
forked over. Plan out the work of the season, aiming to have 
the ground and the time of your help occupied all the time. 
In doing this it is generally best to plan to raise those crops 
that will not require a large amount of work at the same 
season, but rather those that will give a succession of work. 
Market any celery, squash or other vegetables for which there 
is a demand. 

Send for seed catalogues of leading dealers. Decide 
what you are going to want. Test the quality of the seeds 
you have on hand and get your new stock of seed early. 

February. The work of this month differs but little from 
that of January, but, in addition, the following may be men- 
tioned: During the latter part of the month prepare manure 
for early hotbeds to be started the first of March. Inspect 
tools, wagons, harnesses, boxes and crates for marketing 
and hotbed sash, and get them into shape for the busy 
season. In the greenhouse, cabbage and cauliflower plants 
may be started: and as soon as of transplanting size they 



MONTHLY CALENDAR 113 

should be removed to cold frames, where they should remaia 
until the ground is ready for planting out. 

March. Make up hotbeds and sow in them tomatoes, pep- 
pers, cabbage, lettuce, radishes, cress, onions for transplant- 
ing, carrots, beets, celery, etc. In the latter part of the 
month cold frames may be used for the hardy vegetables. 

If the ground is fit to work, onion sets may be planted and 
spinach, hardy peas, and other plants which are generally 
not sown until April may be sown at this time. Harden off 
the early cabbage and cauliflower plants. 

April. The hotbeds and cold frames should be in constant 
use. Plantations of asparagus and rhubarb may be made 
during this and the following month. 

Sow hardy ( smooth) peas, lettuce, celery, radishes, cab- 
bage, cauliflower, turnips, onions and spinach, and plant 
early potatoes as soon as the land is fit to be worked. By 
the end of the month, wrinkled peas, salsify and parsnips may 
be sown. See that tomatoes sown last month are transplanted 
into beds or boxes so as to have plenty of room. Transplant 
cabbage plants for the early crop, putting them in deep enough 
to completely cover the stems. 

In the latter part of the month, all the early planted crops 
may need cultivating and some of them thinning, though but 
little of this is generally necessary until May. Radishes, let- 
tuce, spinach and onions from sets sown in hotbeds in March 
should be fit to ea,t or to market. 

Haul out manure and plow land for planting next month. 
Transplant onion plants from the hotbeds to open ground. 

May is the month when the larger part of the vegetables 
are planted. 

By the middle of the month it is often safe to plant the 
more, tender vegetables, such as cucumbers, squash, melons 
and beans, in the open ground although nothing is gained by 
so doing if the ground is cold, when it would be better to wait 
until ten days later. Corn is frequently planted by the middle 
of the month, and in early seasons it is a good plan to ven- 
ture a little of some very early kind during the first week of 
May. Plant potatoes for general crops. 



214 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

All the early ])lanted erops need cultivating- fi-equently, 
and those in drills need to be thinned. 

Planting-s for sueeession may be made of all vegetable 
seeds and sets put in last month. 

Sow eabbajj-e for winter use. 
Lettuce, radishes, beets, spinach, aspara^-us, rhubarb and 
bunch onions should now be larj^-e enouj2:h for use. 

Harden otl" tomato ])lants and set them out the tirst })art of 
next month. 

June. Set out tomatoes, celery for early use, peppers, 
eo-o- plant, late cabbage and cauliflower plants and sow winter 
beets. 

Plant cucumbers for pickles and beans for main crop. 
Plant Lima beans the early part of the month. Market the 
same vegetables as last month and in addition, early peas 
and. pei-haps, early cabba^je. 

Weeding' commences in earnest this month and should 
begin early, since if neg-lected it may be cheaper to plow up 
the whole crop rather than weed it out. 

Keep the soil well stirred with the cultivator. 

Sow rutabag-a turnips. 

Stop cutting' asparagus by the twentieth of the month. 
Clean up the bed. manure and plow it. 

July. Plant celery for main and late crop. 

Sow string- beans, winter radish and rutabaga turnips. 

Early potatoes, string beans, cabbage, summer squashes, 
cucumbers, green corn, onions from sets and cauliflowers are 
now of edible size in addition to those veg'etables nearing 
maturity last month. 

Continued cultivation is necessary to protect from drouth 
and to keep plants growing. 

August. Sow string beans and flat early turnips, spinach for 
spring- use, winter radishes and early peas. 

The late crops are now maturing, and we have tomatoes, 
squashes, the better kinds of sweet corn and egg-plant, on- 
ions from early sown seed and those transplanted are now dry 



MONTHLY CALENDAR. 215 

and marketable. Lima beans will be ready for use the latter 
part of the month. 

Keep weeds from g'oino- to seed. 

Sow lettuce for growing- in hotbeds or cold frames for 
Thanksgiving. 

September. The cool nights of this month are especially 
favorable to such crops as celery, cabbage and cauliflower, 
and they should be carefully cultivated. 

Melons, winter squash, and celery are now marketable. 

Handle celery: i. e., partially earth up around it. 

First frosts may now be expected by the fifteenth of the 
month, and the half-ripened tomatoes should be picked and 
allowed to ripen in some shady place. 

Dig potatoes. 

Transplant lettuce to hotbeds or cold frames. Plant out 
hardy perennial onions for bunching in the early spring. 

October. Winter celery should be banked up to protect it 
from severe frosts, and on severe nights it should be covered 
with straw or hay for protection. It should all be stored 
away by the end of the month unless plenty of protection is 
provided in the shape of straw, in which case it is safe to 
leave it out until the 10th of November. Such crops will not 
stand with immunity as much frost in the western states as in 
the eastern states. Pull and store cabbages, dig beets, carrots, 
parsnips, salsify and potatoes and store in pits or put at once 
into the cellar. Some parsnips and salsify may be left on 
high land to be dug in the spring. Plant out rhubarb roots. 

Attend to fall plowing and leave in ridges any very heavy 
land that is needed for early spring use. 

November. In the more northern states this month gener- 
ally closes up the work of the season. All the crops should 
be gathered in the early part of the month. 

Clean up the garden, frames and hotbeds and get them 
ready for spring work. 

The lettuce sown in August and transplanted to hotbeds 
or cold frames should be fit to market this month. 

Market all the vesretables on hand that will bring a fair 



216 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 

price, unless wanted for some special purpose or at an as- 
sured price. 

Cover winter spinach and hardy onion sets with hay as 
soon as the ground begins to freeze hard at night, to prevent 
freezing and thawing. 

December. Clean up the garden and continue the market- 
ing of vegetables if it is not already attended to. 

Carefully study the season's work, note the profits or 
losses on the last crop, and what has been learned that will 
be useful another year. 

At Odd Times the following may be attended to: — Gather 
manure, make crates and boxes for marketing fruits, vegetables 
and plants, repair tools, wagons, harnesses, sashes, hotbeds 
and cold frames. Clean up! 



TABLES. 



21T 



WEIGHT OF ONE QUART OF SEEDS AND NUMBER OF SEEDS 
IN ONE OUNCE. 



KIND OF SEED 



Weight of a 

Quart of 

Seed in 

Ounces. 




Number of 

Seeds in 
One Ounce. 



Asparagus, 

Balm, 

Basil, 

Bean, 

Beet 

Borecole, or Kale, 

Bro scoli 

Cabbage 

Caraway, 

Carrot, with spines 

" without spines, 

Catmint 

Cauliflower, , 

Celerv 

Chicory, 

Cress, American, 

" common garden, 

'* w^ater, 

Cucumber, common 

" prickly fruited gherkin 

Dandelion, 

Dill 



Egg Plant, 

Endive 

K ohlrabi , 

Leek 

Lettuce, 

Maize, or Indian Corn, 

Marjoram, sweet, 

winter, 

Martynia 

Muskmelon, 

Okra 

Onion, 

Pea, 

" gray or field, 

Parsnip, 

Pepper 

Pumpkin, 

Radish 

Rampion, 

Rhubarb, 

Sage 

Salsify 

Savory, summer 

" winter 

Spinach, prickly-seeded 
" round-seeded 
" New Zealand 

Squash, Hubbard 

Bush Scalloped 

Strawberry Tomato 

Thyme 

Tomato 

Turnip 

Watermelon 



1,400 

56,600 

22,665 

200 to 225 

1,400 

8,500 

10,525 

8,500 

9,915 

19,835 

26,915 

3.400 

10.525 

70,835 

19,830 

16,915 

12.715 

113,335 

1,103 

3,680 

34,000 to 42,500' 

25.500 

6,520 

18,000 

8,500 

11,335 

22,665 

113 to 140 

113,355 

340.000 

565 

1,560 

425 to 510 

7,080 

56 to 142 

142 to 225 

6,605 

4,205 

85 

700,835 

3,400 

1,415 

7,080 

2,835 

42,500 

70,835 

2,550 

3,135 

280 to 340 

93 

280 

28,335 

170,000 

8,500 to 11,335 

12,715 

113 to 150 



218 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



LONGEVITY OF GARDEN SEED. 

(WHEN PROPERLY STORED.) 



KIND OF SEED. 



Average 
Years. 



KIND OF SEED. 



Average 
Years. 



Balm , 

Basil 

Bean 

Beet 

Borecole 

Cabbage 

Caraway 

Carrot 

Catmint 

Cauliflower 

Celery 

Chicory 

Cress, American 

" Common Garden.. 
Water 



Cucumber common 

" Pricklj'-fruited 
Gherkin 



Dandelion 

Dill 

Egg-Plant 

Endive , 

Kohlrabi 

Leek 

Lettnce, common 

Maize, or Indian Corn..., 

Marjoram, Sweet 

Winter 



3 
6 
5 
5 
3 
4 or 5 
6 
5 
8 
8 
3 
5 
5 
10 



3 
6 
10 
5 
3 
5 
2 
3 
5 



Martynia 

Muskmelon 

Mustard, white or salad 

Okra 

Onion 

Parsnip 

Parsley 

Pea. Garden or field 

Pepper 

Pumpkin 

Radish 

Rampion 

Rhubarb 

Rosemary 

Rue 

Sage 

Salsify 

Savory, summer or wint'r 

Spinach, all kinds, 

Squash, Hubbard 

" Bush scalloped.. 

Strawbery Tomato 

Thyme 

Tomato 

Turnip 

Watermelon 



1 or 2 

5 

4 

5 

2 

2 

3 

3 

4 
4 or 5 

5 

5 

3 

4 

2 

3 

2 

3 

5 

6 

6 

8 

3 

4 

5 

6 



TABLES. 219 

AMOUNT OF SEED REQUIRED TO SOW AN ACRE. 



KIND OF SEED 


METHOD OF SOWING 


Amt. per Acre 


Asparagrus, 


1 oz. for 50 ft. 
In drills 


of drill, or 


4 to 5 lbs. 




IVsbus. 

10 to 12 qts. 

5 to 6 lbs 


Pole, 




Beet, .. 


11 


Cabbage 


In beds to tra 
In drills 


nsplant 


14 lb. 
2 to 4 lbs. 


Carrot 






1 oz. for 1000 
1 oz. for 2000 
In hills 






Celery, 


plants 




Corn, 




8 to 10 qts. 


Cucumber, 




Cress, water or upland, 
Egg-Plant 


In drills 


2 to 3 lbs 


1 oz. for 1000 
In drills 


plants 




Kale, or Sprouts ... 




3 to 4 lbs 




1 oz. for 1000 
In hills .. 






I^Iuskmelon, 




2 to 3 lbs. 


Melon, Water 


In hills 


4 to 5 lbs. 


Onion, 


In drills 


5 to 6 lbs. 




In drills 


30 lbs. 


" , sets 




6 to 12 bus. 


Parsnip 


(< 


4 to 6 lbs 




<i 


1 to 2 bus. 




Broadcast 


2 to 3 bus 


Potato (cut tubers) 

Pumpkin, 




7 to 10 bus. 


In hills 


4 to 5 lbs 


Radish, 


In drills 


8 to 10 lbs. 


Sage 




8 to 10 lbs. 


Salsify, 


• > 


8 to 10 lbs. 


Spinach, 


tt 


10 to 12 qts. 
4 to 6 lbs. 




In hills 


Running, 

Tomato, 




3 to 4 lbs. 


To transplant 
In drills 




14 lb. 
1 to 2 lbs. 


Turnip, 






Broadcast 


3 to 4 lbs 









AVERAGE TIME REQUIRED FOR GARDEN SEEDS TO 
GERMINATE. 

(UNDER GOOD CONDITIONS.) 



KIND OF SEED. 


No. Days. 


KIND OF SEED. 


No. Days. 


Bean, 


5 to 10 
7 to 10 
5 to 10 

12 to 18 
5 to 10 

10 to 20 

5 to 8 

6 to 10 
5 to 10 


Lettuce 


6 to S 


Beet 




7 to 10 


Cabbage, 


Pea, 


6 to 10 


Carrot 


Parsnip, 

Pepper, 


10 to 20 


Cauliflow'er, 


9 to 14 


Celery, 


Radish 

Salsify 


3 to 6 


Corn, 


7 to 12 


Cucumber, 


Tomato, 


6 to 12 


Endive , 




4 to 8 









220 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



VITALITY OF GOOD MERCHANTABLE SEED. 

THE RHODE ISLAND EXPERIMENT STATION SUGGESTS THE 
FOLLOWING AS LABORATORY STANDARDS FOR SEEDS, 



KIND OF SEED.. 



Per Cent of Vi- 
tality. 



Beet, (in 100 pods) 

Cabbage, 

Carrot 

Celery, 

Cucumber,. 

Egg-Plant 

Lettuce, 

Onion, 

Parsnip, 

Pepper, 

Radish, 

Tomato, 

Turnip, 



133 
89 
59 
32 
86 
60 
77 
85 
77 
76 
95 
80 
94 



INDEX, 



Page. 

Acre incli of water 8 

Anise 148 

Ash. per cent in vegetables 14 

Asparagus 99 

bunching 103 

cultivation 101 

cutting 102 

forcing 104 

manuring 103 

planting. 101 

propagation 99 

varieties 104 

Balm 148 

Beans 104 

bush 105 

diseases 108 

harvesting 196 

insects 108 

pole , 107 

transplanting 107 

preserving in salt 108 

varieties 106 

Beet 108 

diseases HI 

forcing 110 

harvesting 110 

storing 110 

Swiss chard 112 

Borecole 151 

Boxes for transplanting 77 

Brussels sprouts 112 

Cabbage 113 

diseases 121 

hardening off plants 115 

harvesting. 116-118 

hill sowing 118 

insects 121 

manure for 114 

pitting 120 

retarding heading of 116 

sauer kraut 122 



Cabbage— Page. 

seed raising 119 

seed sowing 117 

setting plants 115 

soil 113-116 

varieties 121 

Calendar, monthly 212 

Caraway 148 

Carbon bisulphide 83 

Carrot 123 

cultivation 129 

forcing 125 

gathering 124 

storing 125 

varieties .'. 125 

CauUflower 126 

varie-ties '....128 

Celariac ; 137 

Celery 128 

bleaching with boards 132 

bleaching with earth 132 

bleaching, time required for 155 

digging 134 

diseases 135 

handling 132 

marketing 137 

onions with 131 

planting 130 

storing 134 

varieties 139 

Citron melon 159 

Cold frames (see greenhouses),.. 61 

Commercial fertilizers 15 

Compost heap 19 

Corn 137 

classes of 137 

cultivation 138 

cutting off tassels 141 

diseases 141 

marketing 139 

pop 140 

preserving 140 



222 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



Corn— Page. 

varieties 139 

Cress 14- 

water 142 

Cucumber 142 

cultivation 143 

insects 145 

salting 144 

starting in cold frames 144 

varieties 145 

Cultivation, general 30 

Dandelion ' 146 

Dill 148 

Diseases— 

anthracnose of bean 108 

beet scab Ill 

blight or rust of celery 136 

leaf blight of celery 186 

potato blight 191 

scab 189 

club root of cabbage 121 

smut of corn 141 

lettuce mildew 156 

Eggplant 146 

Endive 147 

Germinating apparatus 94 

Greenhouse hotbed 67 



Greenhouses . 

boxes 

glass 

glazing 

heating 

lean-to 

mats 



70 



... 79 
... 73 
.69-71 
... 74 



miscellaneous notes on 79 

radiating surface 73 

sash 79 

shading 78 

shutters 65-74 

soil 77 

substitutes for glass 78 

temperature... 75 

ventilation 75 

watering 76 

Ground cherry 209 

Herbs 148 

Horseradish 150 

Hot beds (see also greenhouses) 63 

Implements....;. 32 

Breeds wefetffer 36 



Insects— Page, 

combined drills and cultivators. 34- 

dibbers 34 

hand 33. 

horse 33 

marker sq. 

plank drag 36- 

potato diggers 36' 

hoe 35 

seed drills 33 

spray pumps 36 

Insecticides 81 

application of 86 

carbon bisulphide 83 

kerosene emulsion 8S 

London pui^ple 82 

Paris green 82 

pyrethrum 81 

tobacco 82 

Insects ,. 81 

aphis 95 

cabbage aphis 95 

bean weevil 97 

cabbage flea beetle 94 

flosia 88 

worms 86 

catching 84 

celery caterpillar... 96 

chinch bug 96 

cucumber beetle 90 

cut worms 89 

moth or corn worm 96 

leaf hce 95 

maggots 93 

may beetle 92 

parsley worm 9S 

potato beetle 85 

pea weevil 97 

squash bug.... 98 

squash vine borer 97 

tassel worm 96 

white grub 92 

wire worms 89 

Irrigation 7 

acre inch of water 8 

amount of water needed 7-8 

application of water 9 

rules for 9 

cultivation as an aid to 7 

humus, an aid to 8 



• ■» .s 



INDEX. 



223 



Irrigation— Page. 

mulching 7 

pumping water for 8 

reservoirs 9 

storage capacity for 8 

sub-irrigation 10 

temperature of water 10 

Kale 151 

Kitchen garden 49 

Kohl-rabi 151 

varieties 152 

Leeks 152 

cultivation 152 

varieties '. 153 

Lettuce 153 

cultivation 153 

diseases 156 

varieties 155 

Lima beans 106 

London purple 82 

Manure pile 18 

Manures 12 

action of .' 12 

animal 16.24 

appUcation of 24 

commercial 19 

—composition of 15 

—ground blood 20 

— ground bones 20 

— kainite 22 

— land plaster 22 

— lime 22 

—nitrate of soda 20 

—salt 20 

—sulphate of ammonia 22 

—superphosphates 22 

—tankage 19 

—wood ashes 22 

composition of farm 14 

compost heap 19 

cow 17 

for early crops 24 

• late •• 24 

■ leguminous crops 24 

hen ir 

horse 17 

humus 12 

liquid 25 

mixing 18 

sheep 18 



Manures— Page. 

swine 17 

use of fresh 24 

Manuring growing crops 25 

Martynia 156 

Melon, musk 156 

culture 157 

varieties 158 

Melon, preserving 159 

Melon water 158 

culture 158 

varieties 158 

Mixing varieties 60 

Monthly calendar 212 

Mulching 7 

Mushrooms 159 

culture 160 

native species of 160 

Novelties 55 

Okra 173 

varieties 174 

Onions 162 

cultivation 165 

land for 163 

marketing 171 

onion sets 167 

perennial 172 

potato 172 

scaUions 166 

seed 173 

sowing seed 164 

storing 167 

transplanting 169 

varieties 172 

Oyster plant 198 

Parsley 175 

culture 176 

varieties. 176 

Parsnip 174 

culture 174 

varieties .. 175 

Paris green 82 

Peas 176 

culture 177 

insects 97 

varieties 178 



Peppers 

culture..., 
varieties. 



Peppermint :si^. 



.179 
.180 
.180 
.150 



»■ % 



224 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



Page. 

Pieplant 195 

Plowing 28 

subsoU 28 

PoUenizing flowers 59 

Potatoes 180 

cutting seed 182 

demand for 187 

digging 185 

diseases 189 

early planting 183 

insects 189 

main crop 184 

manuring 182 

origin 181 

pitting 185 

propagation, notes on 188 

"running out" of 183 

sets or 'seeds ■ 182 

soil 182 

starch 187 

variedes 187 

Pumpkins 193 

Radishes 193 

culture 194 

varieties 19,t 

Rhubarb 194 

culture 194 

propagation 194 

JRidging land 30 

Rotating crops 7 

Rotation of crops 11 

reasons for 11 

Rutabagas 211 

Sage 150 

Salsify 198 

culture 198 

Sauer kraut 122 

-Seed 52 

changing '.'.'.',,[ 54 

curing 54 

germinating apparatus for 53 

stock 55 

storing ." 54 

testing 52 

vitality of 218 

Seed sowing 39 

depth ■ 39 

time 40 

firming by feet 42 

Seedsmens humbugs 55 

specialties 55 

Seed tables 218-219-220 

amount for acre 219 

longevity 218 



Seed tables— Page 

number of seeds in an ounce 217 

time to germinate 219 

weight of seeds 217 

Soils 5 

for early crops 6 

'• late crops 6 

elements necessary 7 

elements lackingin 7 

Spinach 203 

culture 203 

varieties 204 

Squash 199 

cultivation 200 

harvesting 200 

poUenizing. flowers 199 

storing....*. 201 

varieties 201-202 

Summer savory 148 

Strawberry tomato 209 

culture 209 

Subsoiling 28 

Sweet basil 148 

Sweet marjoram 149 

Sweet potato 192 

Swiss chard 112 

Thinning plants 43 

Tillage, garden 26 

general 30 

Tomato .....204 

cultivation 205 

diseases 208 

improvement 55 

insects 208 

propagation 205 

pruning 206 

saving seed 206 

in severe locations 206 

training 206 

transplanting 205 

varieties 208 

Transplanting 44 

with tomato cans 47 

Turnip 210 

culture 210 

rutabaga 211 

varieties 211 

Varieties, development of 55 

Vitality of seeds ...220 

Vegetables, compo.sition of 11 

Weeds 26 

cultivation to kill 26 

kilUng of 24 

seeds in manure 27 

Weights of seeds 217 



